- published: 12 Dec 2011
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- author: Brothadude2
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Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, (
i/ˈkjuːbə/; Spanish: República de Cuba, pronounced: [reˈpuβlika ðe ˈkuβa] (
listen)) is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. To the north of Cuba lies the United States (140 km or 90 mi away) and the Bahamas, Mexico is to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica are to the south, and Haiti and the Dominican Republic are to the southeast.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on and claimed the island now occupied by Cuba, for the Kingdom of Spain. Cuba remained a territory of Spain until the Spanish–American War ended in 1898, and gained formal independence from the U.S. in 1902. A fragile democracy, increasingly dominated by radical politics eventually evolved, solidified by the Cuban Constitution of 1940, but was definitely quashed in 1952 by former president Fulgencio Batista, and an authoritarian regime was set up, intensifying and catalyzing already rampant corruption, political repression and crippling economic regulations.Batista was ousted in January 1959 by the July 26 movement, and a new administration under Fidel Castro established, which had by 1965 evolved into a single-party state under the revived Communist Party of Cuba, which holds power to date.
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Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic (i/dəˌmɪnɨkən rɨˈpʌblɪk/; Spanish: República Dominicana [reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana]) is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,442 square kilometres (18,704 sq mi) and an estimated 10 million people.
Taínos inhabited what is now the Dominican Republic since the 7th century. Christopher Columbus landed on it in 1492, and it became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo, the country's capital and Spain's first capital in the New World. Santo Domingo can boast of many firsts in the Americas, including the first cathedral, and castle, both in the Ciudad Colonial area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
wn.com/Dominican_Republic -
Japan
Japan
i/dʒəˈpæn/ (Japanese: 日本 Nihon or Nippon; formally 日本国 
Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku, literally the State of Japan) is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. The characters that make up Japan's name mean "sun-origin", which is why Japan is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Rising Sun".
Japan is an archipelago of 6,852 islands. The four largest islands are Honshū, Hokkaidō, Kyūshū and Shikoku, together accounting for ninety-seven percent of Japan's land area. Japan has the world's tenth-largest population, with over 127 million people. The Greater Tokyo Area, which includes the de facto capital city of Tokyo and several surrounding prefectures, is the largest metropolitan area in the world, with over 30 million residents.
Archaeological research indicates that people lived in Japan as early as the Upper Paleolithic period. The first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other nations followed by long periods of isolation has characterized Japan's history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, victory in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Russo-Japanese War and World War I allowed Japan to expand its empire during a period of increasing militarism. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since adopting its revised constitution in 1947, Japan has maintained a unitary constitutional monarchy with an emperor and an elected parliament called the Diet.
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Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds (UK /təˈsɔːdz/, US /tʉˈsoʊz/; the family themselves pronounce it /ˈtuːsoʊ/) is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used. Madame Tussauds is a major tourist attraction in London, displaying waxworks of historical and royal figures, film stars, sports stars and infamous murderers.
Marie Tussaud, was born Anna Maria Grosholtz (1761–1850) in Strasbourg, France. Her mother worked as a housekeeper for Dr. Philippe Curtius in Bern, Switzerland, who was a physician skilled in wax modelling. Curtius taught Tussaud the art of wax modelling.
wn.com/Madame_Tussauds -
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. The city is referred to as New York City or The City of New York to distinguish it from the State of New York, of which it is a part. As a global power city, New York exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment. The home of the United Nations Headquarters, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural capital of the world.
Located on one of the world's largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, each of which comprises a state county. The five boroughs—The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island—were consolidated into a single city in 1898. With a Census-estimated 2011 population of 8,244,910 distributed over a land area of just 305 square miles (790 km2), New York is the most densely populated major city in the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. The New York City Metropolitan Area's population is the United States' largest, with 18.9 million people distributed over 6,720 square miles (17,400 km2), and is also part of the most populous combined statistical area in the United States, containing 22.1 million people as of the 2010 Census.
wn.com/New_York_City -
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/11) were a series of four suicide attacks that were committed in the United States on September 11, 2001, coordinated to strike the areas of New York City and Washington, D.C. On that Tuesday morning, 19 terrorists from the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets. The hijackers intentionally piloted two of those planes, American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175, into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City; both towers collapsed within two hours. The hijackers also intentionally crashed American Airlines Flight 77 into the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and intended to pilot the fourth hijacked jet, United Airlines Flight 93, into a target in Washington, D.C.; however, the plane crashed into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania after its passengers attempted to take control of the jet from the hijackers. Nearly 3,000 people died in the attacks including the 227 civilians and 19 hijackers aboard the four planes, none of whom survived.
wn.com/September_11_attacks -
Siena College
Siena College is an independent Roman Catholic liberal arts college in Loudonville, New York. Siena is a four-year, coeducational, independent college in the Franciscan tradition, founded by the Franciscan Friars in 1937. It has 3,200 full-time students and offers undergraduate degrees in business, liberal arts, and sciences. Tuition for the 2011-2012 academic year is $28,910 and standard room and board is $11,434.
It was named after Saint Bernardino of Siena, the illustrious 15th century Franciscan scholar and friar.
Siena will be giving Derek Jeter its first honorary degree, a doctorate in Humane Letters, on May 13.
The college is an urban campus taking up 174 acres (70 ha) at the northern edge of Loudonville. The campus includes:
Siena College, due to United States Army funding, was forced to shut down their ROTC program, on campus. Current enrolled Cadets are now required to travel to other schools in the region, in order to continue participation in the Reserved Officer Training Corps.
wn.com/Siena_College -
South Korea
South Korea (
listen), officially the Republic of Korea (Hangul: 대한민국; Hanja: 大韓民國; Daehan Minguk listen), is a sovereign state in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name "Korea" is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty which ruled in the Middle Ages (an initial "G" in Korean is pronounced like an English "K").
Its neighbors are China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the Korea Strait to the south. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. It covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometers and has a population of almost 50 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 9,794,304.
Archaeological findings show that the Korean Peninsula was occupied by the Lower Paleolithic period.Korean history begins with the founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BC by the legendary Dan-gun. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea under Silla 668 AD, Korea went through the Goryeo Dynasty and Joseon Dynasty as one nation until the end of the Korean Empire in 1910, when it was annexed by Japan. After liberation and occupation by Soviet and U.S. forces at the end of World War II, the nation was divided into North and South Korea. The latter was established in 1948 as a democracy, though political turmoil and times of military rule and martial law characterized much of the period until the foundation of the Sixth Republic in 1987.
wn.com/South_Korea -
Trump World Tower
Trump World Tower is a residential skyscraper at 845 United Nations Plaza (First Avenue between 47th and 48th Streets) in Manhattan, New York City. Construction began in 1999 and concluded in 2001. Designed by the Polish architect Marta Rudzka, the building is 861 feet high and has 72 constructed floors (but lists 90 stories on elevator panels) with curtain wall facades of dark, bronze-tinted glass. The resulting large windows allow for extensive views of the East River and midtown Manhattan. The building is constructed with concrete to improve its wind resistance.
Trump World Tower was the tallest all-residential tower in the world briefly, prior to the completion of the 21st Century Tower in Dubai (2003) and the Tower Palace 3 in Seoul (2004).
Prior to construction, many neighbors, including Walter Cronkite, opposed the building due to its height and lack of distinguishing exterior features. Among the concerns was that this tower would dwarf the United Nations headquarters across the street. Trump World Tower was constructed as-of-right on the former site of the United Engineering Center through the acquisition of unused air rights from adjacent properties.
wn.com/Trump_World_Tower -
United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
wn.com/United_States
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Adam Dunn
Adam Troy Dunn (born November 9, 1979, in Houston, Texas), nicknamed "Big Donkey", is an American Major League Baseball first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter for the Chicago White Sox. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed.
He is six feet, six inches (198 cm) in height and weighing 285 pounds. On July 4, 2009, he became the 123rd player to hit 300 career home runs.
Dunn was a standout quarterback at New Caney High School in Texas. After graduating from high school, the Cincinnati Reds drafted Dunn in the second round (50th overall) of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft. Dunn had previously committed to play football for the University of Texas. The Reds and Dunn agreed to a deal which allowed him to play minor league baseball during the summer, and return to Austin in August to prepare for football. Dunn redshirted his freshman season and served as a backup to Major Applewhite. When star recruit Chris Simms committed to Texas, Dunn was asked to move to the tight end position. As a result, he left the Longhorns to concentrate on baseball in 1999.[citation needed]
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Adrián Beltré
Adrián Beltré Pérez (born April 7, 1979) is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Texas Rangers.
The youngest player in the National League when he made his major league debut, he has also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1998–2004), the Seattle Mariners (2005–2009), and the Boston Red Sox (2010). He bats and throws right-handed. He is known for his signature home run swing, dropping to one knee when connecting with an off-speed pitch.
He was signed out of the Dominican Republic by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1994. All-Star catcher Alex Avila's grandfather was the scout who signed him. Beltré attended Liceo Maximo Gomez High School, where he developed into one of the school’s top players. In 1994, while working out at Campo Las Palmas, the Los Angeles Dodgers facility, he was spotted by scouts Ralph Avila and Pablo Peguero. Though only 15 and weighing just 130 pounds, he had a lightning-quick swing and electric throwing arm. On the insistence of Avila and Peguero, the Dodgers signed Beltré in July. He received a $23,000 bonus. When it was revealed that Beltré had signed his initial contract at the age of 15, commissioner Bud Selig suspended the Dodgers' scouting operations in the Dominican Republic for a year, because signing a player at that age was prevented under MLB rules.
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Al Bumbry
Alonza Benjamin Bumbry (born April 21, 1947 in Fredericksburg, Virginia) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres from 1972 through 1985.
Al Bumbry was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 11th round in 1968. He spent 13 of his 14 major-league seasons with the Orioles, and played for them in the 1979 and 1983 World Series. Bumbry was voted the American League Rookie of the Year in 1973 with the Orioles and was elected to the American League All-Star team in 1980. In 2002, he was inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He served as the outfield/baserunning coach for the York Revolution in 2007.
Prior to his major league career, Bumbry served in Vietnam and was awarded a Bronze Star[citation needed].
His son, center fielder Steve Bumbry, was picked by the Orioles in the 12th round of the 2010 major-league amateur draft.
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Al Kaline
Albert William "Al" Kaline ( /ˈkeɪlaɪn/; born December 19, 1934 in Baltimore, Maryland) is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Kaline played his entire 22-year baseball career with the Detroit Tigers. Immediately after retiring from playing, he became the Tigers' TV color commentator, a position he held until 2002. Kaline still works for the Tigers as a front office official. Because of his lengthy career and longtime association with the Tigers organization, Kaline's nickname is "Mr. Tiger."
For most of his career, Kaline played in the outfield, mainly as a right fielder, where he was known for his strong throwing arm. Near the end of his career, he also played as first baseman and, in his last season, was the Tigers' designated hitter.
Kaline bypassed the minor league system and joined the team directly from Baltimore's Southern High School as an 18-year-old "bonus baby" signee, receiving $35,000 ($304,030 as of 2012), to sign with the Tigers. He made his major league debut on June 25, 1953 in Philadelphia as a late-inning replacement for outfielder Jim Delsing. Kaline wore No. 25 during his rookie campaign, but asked teammate Pat Mullin for his No. 6 after the 1953 season ended. Kaline, who was also known simply as "Six" in the Tiger clubhouse, wore the number for the rest of his major league playing career.
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Al Leiter
Alois Terry "Al" Leiter ( /ˈlaɪtər/; born October 23, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher. He is now a studio analyst for MLB Network, and a color commentator for the YES Network.
Leiter attended Central Regional High School. Leiter was a prospect with the New York Yankees along with his brother Mark. Leiter made his major league debut as the starting pitcher for the Yankees on September 15, 1987, earning the win in a Yankees 4–3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Yankee Stadium. Leiter struggled with blisters on his pitching hand to such a degree that the Yankees gave up on him at the age of 23 and dealt him to the Toronto Blue Jays for outfielder Jesse Barfield on April 30, 1989. Early in his Blue Jay career, he was able to overcome the blisters with an exotic liniment (that he used throughout his career) and was seen as a very promising prospect.[citation needed] Leiter has also mentioned on a YES Network broadcast that early in his career with the Yankees, manager Billy Martin would walk up to him and ask him why he was lifting weights. Leiter responded, "To strengthen my arm." Billy was quoted as saying, "If you want to strengthen your arm, do some long toss." In his final start for the Yankees during his first stint, Dallas Green left Leiter in to throw 162 pitches in a cold damp day in 1989.
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Al Weis
Albert John Weis (born April 2, 1938 in Franklin Square, New York) is a former Major League Baseball infielder.
Weis grew up in Bethpage, New York, and graduated from Farmingdale, New York, High School in 1955. He was a high school teammate of Jack Lamabe, who pitched for several major league teams including the Red Sox, Mets, Pirates and Cardinals.
Weis played for the Chicago White Sox from 1962 to 1967 and the New York Mets from 1968 to 1971. He was a switch hitter until the end of the 1968 season, after which he batted exclusively right-handed.
Signed by the White Sox as an amateur free agent, Weis played 99 games as a utility infielder in his rookie season of 1963, with 48 of those games at second base and 27 at shortstop. In 1964 he and Don Buford shared second base duties after the trade of the popular Nellie Fox. Weis batted .247 and established career highs with 81 hits and 22 stolen bases; that year the White Sox finished second in the American League, one game behind the New York Yankees for the pennant.
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Alan Trammell
Alan Stuart Trammell (born February 21, 1958) is a retired American baseball shortstop of the Detroit Tigers from 1977 to 1996. Trammell, nicknamed "Tram", played his entire career with the Tigers, highlighted by a World Series championship in 1984 and an American League East division championship in 1987. Although his arm was not overpowering, he had a quick release and made accurate throws. Trammell's defense perfectly complemented his double-play partner, Lou Whitaker. The two formed the longest continuous double-play combination in major league history, playing 19 seasons together. At the plate, Trammell was one of the best-hitting shortstops of his era and won three Silver Slugger awards. Trammell later served as Detroit's manager from 2003 through 2005. He is currently the bench coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
While playing for the Tigers' farm team in Montgomery of the Southern League, Trammell played his first game with teammate Lou Whitaker before the two infielders were promoted, making their major league debut at Fenway Park together, during the second game of a double-header on September 9, 1977, the first of nineteen seasons together.
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Albert Pujols
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara (born January 16, 1980), better known as Albert Pujols (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈalβert puˈxols]), is a Dominican-American professional baseball first baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball. Pujols is considered one of the top players in Major League Baseball, and was the most feared hitter in baseball in 2008, according to a poll of all 30 MLB managers.
During his eleven seasons as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, Pujols won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2001, was selected as an All-Star nine times, and won the National League Most Valuable Player Award three times. He has also twice won the National League Hank Aaron Award, and has two World Series rings from the Cardinals' 2006 and 2011 titles.
At the end of the 2011 season, he led all active players in batting average (.328),slugging percentage (.617), and OPS (1.037), and ranked 37th in number of home runs in Major League Baseball history. He was selected by ESPN.com as the greatest player of the decade from 2000–09. He stands 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) tall, weighs 230 pounds (100 kg), and bats and throws right-handed.
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Albie Pearson
Albert Gregory Pearson (born September 12, 1934 in Alhambra, California) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played with the Washington Senators (1958–59), Baltimore Orioles (1959–60) and Los Angeles/California Angels (1961–66). One of the smallest MLB players of his era, he stood 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) tall, weighed 140 pounds (64 kg), and batted and threw left-handed. At the time of his rookie season with the Senators, Pearson was the shortest player in Major League Baseball.
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Alex Gordon
Alex Jonathan Gordon (born February 10, 1984 in Lincoln, Nebraska) is a Major League Baseball Outfielder for the Kansas City Royals.
Alex was born into a baseball-loving family in Lincoln, NE. Anecdotes indicate that all four of the Gordon Boys, Eric, Alex, Brett and Derek were named after famous baseball players. All of the boys played baseball from a very early age.
Gordon was a two-time Gatorade Nebraska Player of the Year after hitting .483 with 25 home runs and 112 RBI at Lincoln Southeast High School in Lincoln, Nebraska, from which he graduated in 2002.
Alex was a member of the 2004 U.S. National Team which had players from 15 different colleges. He helped lead Team USA to an 18–7 overall record, seeing the majority of his playing time at first base. He hit .388 with 4 home runs, 12 RBI and 18 runs scored in 24 contests and was named the top offensive player at the World University Baseball Championship in Tainan, Taiwan after leading all players with a .524 average (11-for-21) with 2 homers, 5 RBI and 8 runs scored in 8 games.
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Alex Rodriguez
Alexander Emmanuel "Alex" Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975) is an American professional baseball third baseman with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. Known popularly by his nickname A-Rod, he previously played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.
Rodriguez is considered one of the best all-around baseball players of all time. He is the youngest player ever to hit 500 home runs, breaking the record Jimmie Foxx set in 1939, and the youngest to hit 600, besting Babe Ruth's record by over a year. Rodriguez has fourteen 100-RBI seasons in his career, more than any other player in history. On September 24, 2010, Rodriguez hit two home runs, surpassing Sammy Sosa's mark of 609 HRs, and became the all-time leader in home runs by a player of Hispanic descent.
In December 2007, Rodriguez and the Yankees agreed to a 10-year, $275 million contract. This contract was the richest contract in baseball history (breaking his previous record of $252 million).
In February 2009, after previously denying use of performance-enhancing drugs, including during a 2007 interview with Katie Couric on 60 Minutes, Rodriguez admitted to using steroids, saying he used them from 2001 to 2003 when playing for the Texas Rangers due to what he called "an enormous amount of pressure" to perform.
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Alexei Ramírez
Alexei Fernando Ramírez (born September 22, 1981 in Pinar del Río, Cuba) is a Major League Baseball second baseman and shortstop for the Chicago White Sox. His nickname, given to him by White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén, is "The Cuban Missile" due to his tall, slim physique and combination of speed and power.
In seven years[citation needed] of baseball in the Cuban National Series, Ramírez spent most of his time playing shortstop and outfield for Pinar del Rio. He had a batting average of .335 in Cuba, and led the league in 2007 with 20 home runs while posting a .338 average.[citation needed] Ramírez played center field for Cuba at the 2006 World Baseball Classic, collecting 6 hits in 16 at-bats and impressing US scouts in the process. He hits and throws right-handed.
In September 2007, Ramírez left Cuba to apply for citizenship in the Dominican Republic, and also apply to Major League Baseball to enter free agency, according to his agent, Jaime Torres. He auditioned for many baseball teams before coming to an agreement on a four year contract with the Chicago White Sox on December 21, 2007.
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Alfonso Soriano
Alfonso Guilleard Soriano (born January 7, 1976 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs.
He previously played for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, and Washington Nationals. Soriano played primarily as a second baseman for the Yankees and Rangers. He bats right-handed, and has batted as a lead-off hitter for most of his career.
Soriano began his professional baseball career in Japan with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, training at their Carp Academy for Dominican players. In 1997, he was promoted to the varsity team, and, wearing uniform number 74, he appeared in nine games, batting .118 (2 for 17) with two walks.
Soriano disliked the intense Japanese practice schedule, and the Carp denied him a salary increase from $45,000 to $180,000 per year. Like Hideo Nomo and Hideki Irabu, who had previously left Japan to play in the United States, Soriano hired Don Nomura to help his situation. After first attempting to void Soriano's NPB contract by unsuccessfully arguing that the player was legally a minor when he signed it, Nomura advised him, like Nomo, to retire from NPB and pursue a career in MLB. This prompted Carp executives to file an injunction against Soriano, and to send letters to MLB teams demanding that they cease all negotiations with him. After the Nomo case, NPB officials had amended the Working Agreement without consulting any MLB officials in an attempt to prevent the situation from recurring. Since MLB had not agreed to any changes to the agreement, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig declared that MLB would recognize Soriano as a free agent on July 13, 1998, and the Carp backed down.
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Alfredo Aceves
Alfredo Aceves Martínez (born December 8, 1982, in San Luis Río Colorado, Sonora) is a Mexican professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. He uses a fastball, which can reach the mid 90s, a curveball, a changeup, and a cut fastball. He is known for his control and his ability to throw any pitch in any count. He previously pitched for the New York Yankees.
Aceves was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as an amateur free agent in 2001. He made ten starts in the Dominican Summer League that year. However, Aceves felt isolated, and when the Blue Jays assigned him to stay in the DSL for 2002, Aceves stayed in Mexico, and his contract was purchased by the Yucatán Leones of the Mexican League. Aceves pitched for Yucatán and Sultanes de Monterrey for the next six seasons.
Yankees scout Lee Sigman followed Aceves in the Mexican League, feeling he could achieve similar success as Teddy Higuera, who Sigman had signed for the Milwaukee Brewers. Feeling that he had developed well in the Mexican League, the Yankees purchased Aceves, along with Manny Banuelos and two other players, for $450,000 during the 2007–08 offseason. He began 2008 with the Single-A Advanced Tampa Yankees. He was quickly promoted to the Double-A Trenton Thunder and Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. He was named Eastern League pitcher of the week for the week ending May 25, 2008.
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Alfredo Griffin
Alfredo Claudino Griffin (born October 6, 1957) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) player, who played shortstop for four teams from 1976 to 1993. He is currently the first base coach for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Alfredo began his career as a member of the Cleveland Indians, who signed him as an amateur free agent in 1973. On December 5, 1978, before having played a full season in the majors, he was traded, along with Phil Lansford (minors), to the Toronto Blue Jays for Víctor Cruz. Alfredo made an immediate impact, sharing the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1979 with John Castino.
In 1984, he was named to the All-Star team. This was explained by John Feinstein of the Washington Post as: "Making the All-Star team the hard way: Major league baseball pays the expenses for each player here and for one guest. In most cases, players bring wives or girlfriends. Damaso Garcia, the Toronto Blue Jays' second baseman, brought his shortstop, Alfredo Griffin. When the Tigers' Alan Trammell hurt his arm and could not play tonight, Manager Joe Altobelli named Griffin to the team, partly because he's a fine player, but mostly because he was here."
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Allen Watson
Allen Kenneth Watson (born November 18, 1970 in Jamaica, New York) is a high school baseball coach and former left-handed starting pitcher in professional baseball. He is a graduate of Christ The King Regional High School in Middle Village, New York and attended New York Institute of Technology.
Allen Watson was picked by the St. Louis Cardinals in the first round of the 1991 amateur entry draft. He spent the next two years in the Cardinals' minor league system, making his major league debut on July 8, 1993.
In 1995, he was traded, along with Doug Creek and Rich DeLucia, to the San Francisco Giants for Chris Wimmer and Royce Clayton. At the end of the 1996 season, he and Fausto Macey were traded by the Giants to the Anaheim Angels for J. T. Snow. He pitched with the Angels in 1997-1998, obtaining a career-high twelve wins as a starting pitcher in 1997. On June 14, 1997, Watson gave up the first-ever grand slam in interleague play to Rich Aurilia of the San Francisco Giants
Over the next three years, he played for the Seattle Mariners, New York Mets and New York Yankees, mostly in a relief role or as a spot starter.
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Alvin Dark
Alvin Ralph Dark (born January 7, 1922), nicknamed "Blackie" and "The Swamp Fox", is a former shortstop and manager in Major League Baseball who played for five National League teams from 1946 to 1960. Named the major leagues' Rookie of the Year with the 1948 Boston Braves when he batted .322. After joining the New York Giants he hit .300 three more times and became the first NL shortstop to hit 20 home runs more than once. His .411 career slugging average was the seventh highest by an NL shortstop when he retired, and his 126 home runs placed him behind only Ernie Banks and Travis Jackson. After leading the NL in putouts and double plays three times each, he ended his career with the seventh most double plays (933) and tenth highest fielding percentage (.960) in league history. He went on to become the third manager to win pennants with both National and American League teams.
Dark attended LSU, in 1942 and was a football standout there as well as a baseball player. During World War II, he transferred through the V-12 program to the University of Louisiana-Lafayette (then Southwestern Louisiana Institute) in Lafayette, Louisiana, where he again showed his baseball skills, batting .461 in 1944. His football skills were evident there as well as he quarterbacked SLI to an undefeated season in 1943 and a New Year's Day victory in the Oil Bowl. This led to his getting drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1945 NFL Draft. After serving in Asia during the war, however, he came home and chose baseball.
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Alvin Davis
Alvin Glenn Davis (born September 9, 1960 in Riverside, California), nicknamed "Mr. Mariner", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and designated hitter. Davis played his career primarily for the Seattle Mariners. He won the American League Rookie of the Year Award in 1984.
During a 9-year baseball career, he batted .280 with 160 home runs and 683 Runs batted in. He hit 20-plus homers in three seasons, and drove in over 100 runs twice.
Davis holds the MLB record for the most consecutive games reaching base to start a career, with 47.
Davis, who batted left-handed and threw right-handed, played college baseball at Arizona State. He broke into the majors with the Mariners in 1984 and remained there until 1992. Well liked by Mariners fans, Davis held most of the franchise's offensive team records until the advent of Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Alex Rodriguez. He burst onto the major league scene in 1984, homering in his first two big-league games and collecting three doubles in his third. Davis reached base in each of the first 47 games of his career, and was chosen for his only All-Star Game as a rookie. Named the Mariners MVP, he was also voted the American League's Rookie of the Year Award after batting .284 with 27 home runs and 116 RBIs.
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Andre Thornton
André Thornton (born August 13, 1949 in Tuskegee, Alabama), nicknamed "Thunder," is a former first baseman and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago Cubs, Montreal Expos and Cleveland Indians during a 14-year career. André grew up in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, in a family of athletes, and graduated from Phoenixville Area High School.
In 1967, a week before his 18th birthday, the Philadelphia Phillies signed Thornton as an amateur free agent. In 1972, the Phillies traded André to the Atlanta Braves, who traded him to the Chicago Cubs the following year.
Thornton, playing first base, made his major-league debut with the Cubs on July 28, 1973 and played for the Cubs until May 1976. He was named to the 1974 All-Rookie Team as a first baseman by Baseball Digest. Thornton had one of his best seasons in 1975; although his 18 home runs were only the seventh-best season total of his career, he hit .293 with a .428 on base percentage and a slugging percentage of .516. It was the first of six seasons in which Thornton walked more than he struck out.
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Andrew Brackman
Andrew Warren Brackman (born December 4, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds. He signed a four-year, $4.55 million-dollar deal with $3.35-million signing bonus as the New York Yankees' first-round choice (30th overall pick) of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. Brackman is represented by sports agent Scott Boras.
Brackman attended Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. There he was one of the top high school pitchers in the country, and a two-sport standout. He had a career ERA of 1.04, the seventh best in the history of Ohio high school baseball, and helped lead Moeller to a 28-3 record and the Ohio state championship as a senior. He was ranked as the No. 18 senior in America by Team One Baseball, and listed as the No. 4 prospect in Ohio for the 2004 draft by Baseball America.
He was runner-up for Mr. Basketball in Ohio by the Associated Press, shared Ohio's Division I Player of the Year honors, and was named first-team all-state, as he averaged 20.2 points and 6.5 rebounds as a senior. He led his conference in scoring and field-goal percentage (.654), and was second in free-throw percentage (.882). He was rated the No. 42 prospect nationally by Insiders.com, and No. 43 by PrepStars following his senior season.
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Andruw Jones
Andruw Rudolf Jones (born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Jones has been a noted defensive specialist, and won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for outfielders every year from 1998 through 2007. Jones has appeared in the All-Star Game five times, and he won both the Hank Aaron Award and a Silver Slugger Award for outfielders in 2005. In 2002, he was the inaugural National League (NL) All-Star Final Vote winner.
Jones made his debut during the 1996 season with the Atlanta Braves. In the 1996 World Series, Jones became the youngest player ever to hit a home run in the postseason, and just the second player ever to homer in his first 2 World Series at bats. The following season, Jones batted .231 with 18 home runs and finished 5th in voting for Rookie of the Year. In 1998, Jones batted .271 with 31 home runs and in 1999, he batted .275 with 26 home runs. Jones batted .303 with 36 home runs and 104 runs batted in (RBI) in 2000 and made his first All-Star team. The following season, Jones again blasted over 30 home runs and drove in 104 runs but his average dipped to .251 while his strikeouts increased. Jones played better in 2002 and 2003 and made the All-Star team in both seasons. However, Jones struggled in 2004 and failed to hit at least 30 home runs for the first time since 1999. However, in 2005, he led the league with 51 home runs and also led the NL with 128 RBI. He finished 2nd to Albert Pujols for National League MVP. In 2006, Jones batted .262 with 41 home runs and 129 RBI. In 2007, in his last season with the Braves, Jones batted just .222 with 26 home runs and 94 RBI.
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Andy Fox
Andrew Junipero Fox (born January 12, 1971 in Sacramento, California) is an American professional baseball executive and a former Major League Baseball infielder and coach.
Fox, a second round draft pick, graduated from Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento. Also Fox attended a St. Mary, a Catholic school, in sacramento for grades k-8.
In Major League Baseball, he played for the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Florida Marlins, Texas Rangers, and Montreal Expos. He won a World Series as a member of the Marlins' 2003 World Series championship team and as a member of the Yankees' 1996 World Series championship team. While with the Diamondbacks, he set the team's single season record for hits by pitch.
After his playing career ended, Fox became a minor league coach in the Texas Rangers' farm system in 2005 and served as manager of the Class A Clinton LumberKings in 2006. On March 24, 2007, Fox replaced Perry Hill as the Florida Marlins' first base and infield coach. Fox had previously played under Hill in 2002; similarly, former Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez was a coach for the Marlins during part of Fox's playing career with the team.
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Andy Pettitte
Andrew Eugene Pettitte ( /ˈpɛtɪt/; born June 15, 1972) is an American baseball starting pitcher who has played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the New York Yankees. He has won five World Series championships with the Yankees and is a three-time All-Star. He ranks as MLB's all-time postseason wins leader with 19.
Pettitte was drafted by the Yankees organization in 1990, and he signed with them a year later. After debuting in the major leagues in 1995, Pettitte finished third in voting for the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award. In 1996, he led the AL with 21 wins and was runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award, and two years later, he was named the Yankees' Opening Day starter. Pettitte established himself as one of the "Core Four" players who contributed to the Yankees' late-1990s dynasty that produced four championships. Pettitte won the 2001 AL Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in helping his team win the pennant. After spending nine seasons with the Yankees—a stint in which he won at least 12 games each season—Pettitte signed with the Houston Astros in 2004. He rejoined the Yankees in 2007 and later that season admitted to using human growth hormone earlier in his career. After four more seasons and an additional World Series title, he retired after the 2010 season. Pettitte returned to baseball in 2012.
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Arnold Palmer
Arnold Daniel Palmer (born September 10, 1929) is an American professional golfer, who is generally regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men's professional golf. He has won numerous events on both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour, dating back to 1955. Nicknamed "The King," he is one of golf's most popular stars and its most important trailblazer, because he was the first superstar of the sport's television age, which began in the 1950s. He is part of "The Big Three" in golf, along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player, who are widely credited with popularizing and commercialising the sport around the world.
Palmer won the PGA Tour Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998, and in 1974 was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Palmer was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He learned golf from his father, Deacon Palmer, who was head professional and greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club, allowing young Arnold to accompany his father as he maintained the course. He attended Wake Forest University, on a golf scholarship. He left upon the death of close friend Bud Worsham and enlisted in the United States Coast Guard, where he served for three years and had some time to continue to hone his golf skills. Palmer returned to college and competitive golf. His win in the 1954 U.S. Amateur made him decide to try the pro tour for a while, and he and new bride Winifred Walzer (whom he had met at a Pennsylvania tournament) traveled the circuit for 1955.
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Arthur Ashe
Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was a former World No. 1 professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the United States. Ashe, an African American, was the first black player ever selected to the United States Davis Cup team and the only black man to ever win the singles title at Wimbledon, the US Open, or Australian Open. He is also remembered for his efforts to further social causes.
Born in Gum Spring, Virginia, to parents Arthur Ashe Sr. and Mattie Cordell Cunningham Ashe, Arthur and his younger brother, Johnnie, suffered a tragic loss when their mother died suddenly from heart related complications during routine surgery. Arthur Ashe first attended Maggie L. Walker High School, being coached by Ronald Charity, and later coached by Robert Walter Johnson. Tired of having to travel great distances to play Caucasian youths in segregated Richmond, Ashe accepted an offer from a St. Louis tennis official to move there and attend Sumner High School. Young Ashe was recognized by Sports Illustrated for his playing.
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Asdrúbal Cabrera
Asdrúbal José Cabrera (born November 13, 1985) is a switch-hitting infielder for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball.
After coming up through the Seattle Mariners organization, he was acquired by the Indians on June 30, 2006, in exchange for Eduardo Perez. Cabrera spent the remainder of the 2006 season at Cleveland's Triple-A minor league team, the Buffalo Bisons.
Cabrera was a non-roster invitee to the Indians 2007 spring training but was reassigned to their minor league camp March 16. He started 2007 at Double-A with the Akron Aeros and was named to the Eastern League mid-season All-Star team. He was promoted to the Indians' Triple-A affiliate, Buffalo Bisons July 30 and then to Cleveland August 7. Cabrera made his major league debut the following night against the White Sox, starting at second base. He was hitless in three at-bats and scored a run after he was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning. Four days later, Cabrera picked up his first major league hit, a double, against Mike Mussina of the New York Yankees. Cabrera's first home run came August 18, 2007, off Jason Hammel of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in a 8–1 victory for the Indians. Cabrera eventually assumed Cleveland's everyday second baseman job despite being a natural shortstop, taking over for an ineffective Josh Barfield.
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Austin Romine
Austin Allen Romine (born November 22, 1988) is a catcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball.
Romine was drafted by the Yankees in the second round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft out of El Toro High School.
Going into the 2009 season, he was rated the Yankees' fourth best prospect and their second best prospect for 2010, according to Baseball America. In 2009, Romine was named Florida State League Player of the Year. In 2010, he was named as a participant in the All-Star Futures Game.
After competing for the big league backup catcher job in spring training, Romine was assigned to the Double-A Trenton Thunder to begin the 2011 season.
On September 1, 2011, Romine was called up to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees after playing with the Trenton Thunder that night as the team's designated hitter.
Less than two weeks later, Romine would make his major-league debut. After injuries to two catchers, first to Russell Martin and then Francisco Cervelli, the Yankees needed a replacement. When the team was unable to immediately reach Romine, manager Joe Girardi then asked another player, Romine's older brother Andrew, for help in contacting him. On September 10, while Austin was shopping with his girlfriend at a Walmart in Kentucky, Girardi called her cell phone and then told him about his call-up to the Yankees. The next morning, he traveled to California to join the team, which was then in a series with the Los Angeles Angels, and was officially added to the Yankees' 40-man roster. In the seventh inning of the game against the Angels, Romine made his major league debut behind the plate. On September 12, he got his first Major League hit off of Mariners reliever Dan Cortes.
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Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948), best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American baseball player who spent 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) playing for three teams (1914–1935). Known for his hitting brilliance, Ruth set career records for home runs (714), slugging percentage (.690), runs batted in (RBI) (2,217), and on-base plus slugging (OPS) (1.164). Ruth originally entered the major leagues with the Boston Red Sox as a starting pitcher, but after he was sold to the New York Yankees in 1919, he converted to a full time right fielder. He subsequently became one of the league's most prolific hitters and with his home run hitting prowess, he helped the Yankees win seven pennants and four World Series titles. Ruth retired in 1935 after a short stint with the Boston Braves, and the following year, he became one of the first five players to be elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Ruth was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), a mark first eclipsed by Roger Maris in 1961 with 61. Ruth's lifetime record of 714 home runs stood until 1974 when it was surpassed by Hank Aaron. Unlike many power hitters, Ruth also hit for a high batting average: his .342 lifetime average is the tenth highest in baseball history, and in one season (1923) he batted .393, a Yankee record. Ruth dominated the era in which he played. He led the league in home runs during a season twelve times, slugging percentage and OPS thirteen times each, runs scored eight times, and RBIs six times. Each of those totals represents a modern record.
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Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds. He debuted in the Major Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 and joined the San Francisco Giants in 1993, where he stayed through 2007.
Bonds' accomplishments during his baseball career place him among the greatest baseball players of all-time. He has a record-setting seven Most Valuable Player awards, including a record-setting four consecutive MVPs. He is a 14-time All-Star and 8-time Gold Glove-winner. He holds numerous Major League Baseball records, including the all-time Major League Baseball home run record with 762 and the single-season Major League record for home runs with 73 (set in 2001), and is also the all-time career leader in both walks (2,558) and intentional walks (688).
Bonds has led a controversial career, notably as a central figure in baseball's steroids scandal. In 2007, he was indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice for allegedly lying to the grand jury during the government's investigation of BALCO, by testifying that he never knowingly took any illegal steroids. The trial began March 21, 2011; he was convicted on April 13, 2011 on the obstruction of justice charge.
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Barry Larkin
Barry Louis Larkin (born April 28, 1964 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a retired Major League Baseball player. Larkin played shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds from 1986 to 2004 and was one of the pivotal players on the 1990 Reds' World Series championship team. Larkin was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in January 2012 and will be inducted in July.
Larkin attended Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati. He played college baseball at the University of Michigan and had his number 16 retired by the school on May 1, 2010.
Larkin played with the Vermont Reds on their team that won the 1985 Eastern League Championship and in 1986 was the Rookie of the Year and AAA Player of the Year with the Denver Zephyrs. In all, he played only 177 minor league games in his professional career.
After arriving in the majors, Larkin battled fellow prospect Kurt Stillwell for the starting shortstop spot, but soon established himself as the starter.
In 1988 Larkin led all major leaguers by striking out only 24 times in 588 at bats.
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Ben Grieve
Benjamin Grieve (born May 4, 1976 in Arlington, Texas) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. In his nine-season career, he played with the Oakland Athletics (1997-2000), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2001-2003), Milwaukee Brewers (2004), and Chicago Cubs (2004-2005).
Grieve won the 1998 American League Rookie of the Year award while playing for the Oakland Athletics. His father, Tom Grieve, is a broadcaster for the Texas Rangers and a former baseball player and general manager for the Rangers. Grieve admitted in an article in Devil Rays Magazine in 2002 that basketball was his primary love in high school, but baseball was the sport at which he most excelled.
Ben Grieve was once a highly regarded young prospect, born from a baseball family. He began his career with the Oakland Athletics. He hit .288, with 18 HR and 89 RBI, earning him the Rookie of the Year. He followed up with a similar, yet more inconsistent, season, hitting .265 with 28 HR and 86 RBI, missing time due to injuries. His next season (2000) would statistically be his best. Grieve belted 27 HR, drove in 104 RBI, and hit .279. Talk spread throughout the league that Grieve could become a superstar. This talk, however, was short-lived. Following the 2000 season, the young Grieve was involved in a 3-team deal that sent him to Tampa Bay.
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Bernie Williams
Bernabé Williams Figueroa Jr. (born September 13, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and Puerto Rican musician.
Growing up, Williams played classical guitar as well as baseball. He was also active in track and field, winning medals at an international meet at the age of 15. He was one of the world's best 400-meter runners for his age.
On his 17th birthday, he signed a professional contract with the New York Yankees organization.
Playing for the Yankees' Double-A team in Albany, he continued to develop his athletic skills — particularly as a switch hitter. Although viewed as a great prospect by Yankee management, his rise to the Majors was delayed by the solid outfield that the team had developed in the early 1990s.
Williams managed to break into the majors in 1991 to replace the injured Roberto Kelly for the second half of that season. He batted .238 in 320 at bats. He was demoted to the minors until Danny Tartabull was injured, and Williams earned his stay at center by putting up solid numbers.
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Bert Campaneris
Dagoberto (Bert) Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942 in Pueblo Nuevo, Cuba), nicknamed "Campy", is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for four American League teams, primarily the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics. One of the mainstays of the Athletics' championship teams of 1971 to 1975, he holds the A's franchise records for career games played (1795), hits (1882) and at bats (7180). He led the AL in stolen bases six times from 1965 to 1972 and retired with the seventh most steals in history (649). He led the league in putouts three times, and ended his career among the major league leaders in games (5th, 2097) and double plays (7th, 1186) at his position. He holds the record for most errors since 1940, with 388.
A small, skinny player at 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and 160 pounds (73 kg), the Cuban-born Campaneris was a key figure on the A's of the 1960s and 1970s. In his debut with Kansas City on July 23, 1964, Campaneris belted two home runs, the first coming on the first pitch thrown to him by Jim Kaat. He is one of four players in major league history to hit two homers in his first game; Bob Nieman (1951), Mark Quinn (1999), and J.P. Arencibia (2010) are the only others to accomplish this feat.
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Bill Burbach
William David Burbach (born August 22, 1947) was a professional baseball player for the New York Yankees from 1969 through 1971.
Burbach was the 19th overall selection of the first round of the 1965 draft. He was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for pitcher Jim Hardin in May 1971 but did not play for the Orioles.
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Bill James
George William "Bill" James (born October 5, 1949, in Holton, Kansas) is a baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics. His approach, which he termed sabermetrics in reference to the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), scientifically analyzes and studies baseball, often through the use of statistical data, in an attempt to determine why teams win and lose. His Baseball Abstract books in the 1980s are the modern predecessor to websites using sabermetrics such as Baseball Prospectus and Baseball Primer (now Baseball Think Factory).
In 2006, Time named him in the Time 100 as one of the most influential people in the world. He is currently a Senior Advisor on Baseball Operations for the Boston Red Sox. In 2010, Bill James was inducted into the Irish American Baseball Hall of Fame.
After four years at the University of Kansas residing at Stephenson Scholarship hall, James joined the Army in 1971. He was the last person in Kansas to be sent to fight in the Vietnam War, although he never saw action there. Instead, he spent two years stationed in South Korea, during which time he wrote to KU about taking his final class. He was told he actually had met all his graduation requirements, so he returned to Lawrence in 1973 with degrees in English and economics. He also finished an Education degree in 1975, likewise from the University of Kansas.
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Bill Madlock
Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Jr. (born January 12, 1951 in Memphis, Tennessee) is a former Major League Baseball player. From 1973 to 1987, Madlock was a right-handed hitter who won several National League batting titles. His record of four batting titles as a third baseman would be eclipsed in 1988 by Wade Boggs. Since 1970, only Tony Gwynn has won more National League batting titles (eight). Madlock is also one of only three right-handed hitters to have won multiple National League batting titles since 1960, Roberto Clemente having also won four and Tommy Davis having won back-to-back titles in 1962 and 1963.
Raised in Decatur, IL for most of his life, he played organized baseball in the Decatur youth leagues and all star teams and graduated from Eisenhower High School in Decatur in 1969. At Eisenhower, he played 4 years of basketball, baseball, and football. From 1973 to 1987, he played for the Texas Rangers, Chicago Cubs, San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers.
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Bill Mazeroski
William Stanley Mazeroski (born September 5, 1936 in Wheeling, West Virginia), nicknamed "Maz", is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career (1956–72) with the Pittsburgh Pirates. A key member of the Pirates' World Series-winning teams in 1960 and 1971, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001.
While one of the greatest defensive second basemen of all time, he is perhaps best known for winning the 1960 World Series with a dramatic game-ending home run. The only other time that a World Series ended with a home run was Toronto's Joe Carter in 1993. Mazeroski's however, remains the only home run to win a World Series Game 7.
Mazeroski attended Warren Consolidated High School in Tiltonsville, Ohio, excelling in both baseball and basketball. He started on the varsity baseball team as a freshman.
As a 17-year-old in 1954, Mazeroski signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Originally a shortstop, he was quickly moved to second base and made his Major League debut on July 7, 1956. He would remain with the Pirates his entire career.
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Bill Mueller
William Richard Mueller ( /ˈmɪlər/; born March 17, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman. Mueller's playing career was spent with the San Francisco Giants (1996–2000, 2002), Chicago Cubs (2001–2002), Boston Red Sox (2003–2005), and Los Angeles Dodgers (2006). He won the American League batting title in 2003, and helped the Red Sox win the 2004 World Series. He was a switch hitter and threw right-handed.
As of the 2009 season, Mueller is serving in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization as a Special Assistant to General Manager Ned Colletti.
Mueller was born in Maryland Heights, Missouri and attended De Smet Jesuit High School and Southwest Missouri State University. He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 15th round of the 1993 MLB Draft.
Mueller made his professional debut with the Giants low A team, the Everett Giants, in 1993 and quickly rose through the Giants farm system, with stops in San Jose, Shreveport, and Phoenix before making his major league debut with the Giants as a pinch hitter on April 18, 1996 against the Chicago Cubs. He got his first career hit the following day, also as a pinch hitter, against Terry Adams.
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Bill Russell
William Felton "Bill" Russell (born February 12, 1934) is a retired American professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A five-time winner of the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and a twelve-time All-Star, Russell was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won eleven NBA Championships during Russell's thirteen-year career. Along with Henri Richard of the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens, Russell holds the record for the most championships won by an athlete in a North American sports league. Before his professional career, Russell led the University of San Francisco to two consecutive NCAA championships (1955, 1956). He also won a gold medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics as captain of the U.S. national basketball team.
Russell is widely considered one of the best players in NBA history. Listed as between 6'9" (2.06 m) and 6'10" (2.08 m), Russell's shot-blocking and man-to-man defense were major reasons for the Celtics' success. He also inspired his teammates to elevate their own defensive play. Russell was equally notable for his rebounding abilities. He led the NBA in rebounds four times, and remains second all-time in both total rebounds and rebounds per game. He is one of just two NBA players (the other being prominent rival Wilt Chamberlain) to have grabbed more than fifty rebounds in a game. Though never the focal point of the Celtics' offense, Russell also scored 14,522 career points and provided effective passing.
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Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society. She won "The Battle of the Sexes" in 1973, in which she defeated Bobby Riggs, a former Wimbledon men's singles champion, for $100,000, winner take all. She completed a career tour all surfaces win-loss performance of 81.76% (696-165). Her win-loss performance in all Grand Slam singles tournaments was 82.00% (190-39), at the French Open 77.77% (21-6), at Wimbledon 86.36% (95-15), at the US Open 80.55% (58–14), and at the Australian Open 80.00% (16-4).
King is the founder of the Women's Tennis Association, the Women's Sports Foundation, and owner of World Team Tennis, which was founded by her former husband, Larry King, Dennis Murphy, Frank Barman, and Jordan Kaiser.
Billie Jean Moffit was born in Long Beach, California, into a conservative Methodist family, the daughter of a fireman father and housewife mother. Her younger brother Randy Moffitt grew up to become a professional baseball player, pitching for 12 years in the major leagues for the San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, and Toronto Blue Jays.
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Billy Hatcher
William Augustus Hatcher (born October 4, 1960) is a former left and center fielder in Major League Baseball player for the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and Texas Rangers, and former first base coach for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Hatcher is currently first base coach for the Reds.
In 1979, Billy graduated from Williams High School in Williams, Arizona, where he had pitched an eleven-inning no-hitter as a junior. Hatcher then played for Yavapai Community College in Prescott, Arizona, where he was a junior college All-America selection.
Hatcher was drafted by the Cubs in the sixth round of the January 1981 MLB draft. He rose quickly through the Cubs' minor league system, playing exactly one season at each minor league level before receiving a late-season call-up to the major league club in 1984. He split time between AAA and the Cubs during the 1985 season before being traded to the Astros along with Steve Engel for Jerry Mumphrey.
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Billy Martin
Alfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees, a position he held five different times. As Yankees manager, he led the team to consecutive American League pennants in 1976 and 1977; the Yankees were swept in the 1976 World Series by the Cincinnati Reds but triumphed over the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games in the 1977 World Series. He also had notable managerial tenures with several other AL squads, leading four of them to division championships.
As a manager, Martin was known for turning losing teams into winners, and for arguing animatedly with umpires, including a widely parodied routine in which he kicked dust on their feet. However, he was criticized for not getting along with veteran players and owners, burning out young pitchers, and for having an addiction to alcohol. During the 1969 through 1988 period as a manager, Martin totaled 1,253 victories with a .553 winning percentage.
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Billy Ripken
William Oliver Ripken (born December 16, 1964 in Havre de Grace, Maryland) is an American radio personality for XM Satellite Radio, a studio analyst for MLB Network's "MLB Tonight," and is a former infielder in Major League Baseball from 1987–1998. He threw and batted right-handed.
When Ripken made his major league debut on July 11, 1987, it marked the first time a father has managed two sons on the same team. Ripken played alongside his brother, Cal Ripken, Jr. and was managed by his father, Cal Ripken, Sr. as a member of the Baltimore Orioles from 1987–1988. When all three Ripkens appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated on May 2, 1988, the Orioles had lost their first 18 games of the season (they would lose three more before collecting their first win against the Chicago White Sox), and the photo was used in an emblematic fashion to symbolize frustration at the team's struggles.
Ripken remained with the team through the 1992 season and returned for a short stint later in his career (1996). While Ripken came up to the Majors as a second baseman, he did play two games at third in 1988. During the latter part of his career with the Texas Rangers (1993-1994, 1997) Cleveland Indians (1995) and Detroit Tigers (1998) he became a utility infielder-- playing every position on the infield, except catcher.
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Bo Jackson
Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson (born November 30, 1962) is a former American baseball and football player. He was the first athlete to be named an All-Star in two major American sports, and also won the Heisman Trophy in 1985.
In football, he played running back for the Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League. In baseball, he played left field and designated hitter for the Kansas City Royals, the Chicago White Sox, and the California Angels of the American League in Major League Baseball. While at Auburn University, he won the 1985 Heisman Trophy, the prize annually awarded to the most outstanding collegiate football player in the United States. He also ran a 40-yard dash in a blistering 4.12 seconds (hand-timed), which is still the fastest verifiable 40-yard dash time ever recorded at any NFL Combine. A hip injury severely impaired his professional baseball career, and ended his NFL career.
In 1989 and 1990, Jackson's name became known beyond just sports fans through the "Bo Knows" advertising campaign, a series of advertisements by Nike, that starred Jackson alongside Rock and Roll Hall of Fame musician Bo Diddley, promoting a cross-training athletic shoe named for Jackson.
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Bob Allison
William Robert "Bob" Allison (July 11, 1934 – April 9, 1995) was born in Raytown, Missouri and was a Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played in the American League for the Washington Senators / Minnesota Twins from 1958 to 1970.
A gifted all-around athlete, Allison attended the University of Kansas for two years and was a star outfielder on the baseball team and fullback on the football team. In his Major League career, he hit 30 or more home runs three times and 20 or more in eight different seasons. Although he struck out often like many sluggers, reaching the century mark in strikeouts in five seasons, he received more than his share of walks and despite a mediocre career .255 batting average, Allison finished with a lifetime on-base percentage (OBP) of .358 and he finished in the top 10 in OBP in four seasons. Allison wasn't an especially fast player, but he was among the most feared base-runners of his time in hustling out numerous doubles and triples - leading the league in triples in 1959 (with 9) and finishing in the top 10 twice in doubles (1960 & 1964) and four times in triples (1959, 1962, 1967 and 1968).
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Bob Bourne
Robert Glen Bourne (born June 21, 1954) is a retired professional ice hockey centre who played for the New York Islanders and the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL between 1974 and 1988.
Bourne was drafted 38th overall by the Kansas City Scouts in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft, though he would never play for the organization. On September 13, 1974, he was traded to the Islanders for Bart Crashley and the rights to Larry Hornung.
Bourne spent the entire 1974–75 season with the Islanders but found himself in the minor leagues the following year. He returned to the Islanders for the 1976–77 season, and spent the next ten seasons on Long Island, recording at least thirty goals three times and between twenty and thirty goals three others. He won the Stanley Cup 4 times — 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983. He led the Islanders in playoff scoring en route to their fourth Stanley Cup in 1983.
Bourne's career ended on a high note. He was claimed by the Los Angeles Kings on waivers in October 1986 and played 2 seasons with the Kings. In his final year in the NHL he was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy for perseverance. He was also honored by Sports Illustrated as one of several Sportsmen of the Year in 1987, as one of eight "Athletes Who Care" for their work in humanitarian causes. Bourne was singled out for his work with a school for disabled children.
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Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson (born November 9, 1935) is a retired American baseball pitcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1975). Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", Gibson tallied 251 wins, 3,117 strikeouts, and a 2.91 earned run average (ERA) during his career. A nine-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, he won two Cy Young Awards and the 1968 National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award. In 1981, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Born in Omaha, Nebraska, Gibson overcame childhood illness to excel in youth sports, particularly basketball and baseball. After briefly playing under contract to both the basketball Harlem Globetrotters team and the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Gibson decided to only continue playing baseball professionally. Once becoming a full-time starting pitcher in July 1961, Gibson began experiencing an increasing level of success, earning his first All-Star appearance in 1962. Gibson won two of three games he pitched in the 1964 World Series, then won 20 games in season for the first time in 1965. Gibson also pitched three complete game victories in the 1967 World Series.
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Bob Hamelin
Robert James (Bob) Hamelin ( /ˈhæmlɨn/; born November 29, 1967 in Elizabeth, New Jersey) is a former first baseman and designated hitter in Major League Baseball. From 1993 through 1998, Hamelin played for the Kansas City Royals (1993–96), Detroit Tigers (1997) and Milwaukee Brewers (1998). He batted and threw left-handed.
In a six-season career, Hamelin posted a .246 batting average with 67 home runs and 209 RBIs in 497 games played. His stint as a professional player was marred by leg injuries, both in the minors and majors. He also suffered from an eye problem.
As of 2012, Hamelin is serving as a Major League scout in the Boston Red Sox organization.
The Hamelin family moved from their home in New Jersey to Irvine, California when Bob Hamelin was 12 years old. Hamelin attended Irvine High School where he excelled in both football and baseball and was named the School's Athlete of the Year as a senior. The University of Notre Dame recruited him to play football, however Hamelin had already decided to pursue a career in baseball. Hamelin enrolled in Santa Ana College after graduating from high school and played on the school's baseball team. Soon thereafter the young baseball prospect transferred to UCLA where he continued to play baseball for his new school.
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Bob Klapisch
Robert Salvador "Bob" Klapisch (born 1957) is a sportswriter for The Record and Fox Sports. He has previously written for The New York Post, ESPN, and New York Daily News, and has written five books about baseball. He has been a voting member of the Baseball Writers Association of America since 1983.
Klapisch was born in New York City and grew up in Leonia, New Jersey, where he attended Leonia High School. He was awarded a bachelor's degree, majoring in political science, from Columbia University, where he played varsity baseball and was sports editor of the university newspaper, the Columbia Daily Spectator.
In response to his book on the 1992 Mets, The Worst Team Money Could Buy: The Collapse of the New York Mets (ISBN 0-8032-7822-5), New York Mets outfielder Bobby Bonilla confronted Klapisch in the team's clubhouse, threatening him, and having to be restrained.
Klapisch was married to Stephanie Stokes, a singer and boxing ring announcer, from 1995-1999.
Klapisch is a resident of Teaneck, New Jersey.
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Bob Ryan
Bob Ryan is an American sportswriter for The Boston Globe. He has been described as "the quintessential American sportswriter" and a basketball guru and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston College, Ryan started as a sports intern for the Globe on the same day as Peter Gammons.
Born in Trenton, New Jersey, Ryan went to high school at The Lawrenceville School from 1960 to 1964. Ryan graduated from Boston College as a history major in 1968. He and his wife Elaine have a daughter Jessica, and a son Keith who died in 2008. They are grandparents of triplets. They have been married since 1969. Today Ryan lives in Hingham, Massachusetts. The dedication page in Forty Eight Minutes, one of Ryan's books, says, "To Elaine Ryan: In the next life, maybe you'll get a nine-to-five man who makes seven figures." Ryan has also done humanitarian fundraisers for years to help inner-city teenagers with their educations.
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Bob Turley
Robert Lee Turley (born September 19, 1930), known as "Bullet Bob", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher.
Turley was signed as an amateur free agent by the St. Louis Browns in 1948. He played his first game on September 29, 1951 for the Browns and moved with them to Baltimore in 1954. He was traded to the New York Yankees after the 1954 season and played for the Yankees from 1955 to 1962. After beginning the year 1963 with the Los Angeles Angels, he finished the year, and his career, with the Boston Red Sox.
His best year was 1958, when he won 21 games and lost seven. As a result, he won the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year, and the Cy Young Award as the best pitcher in Major League Baseball.
Turley started his 1958 World Series on a low note, giving up a leadoff home run and lasting just one-third of an inning as the Yankees fell behind the Milwaukee Braves two games to none. With the Yankees one game away from elimination, Turley threw a shutout in Game Five, then picked up a 10th-inning save in Game Six. A day later in Game Seven, he relieved Don Larsen in the third inning and won his second game in three days, with 6 2/3 innings of two-hit relief. The Yankees became just the second team to recover from a 3-1 World Series deficit, and Turley was voted the World Series Most Valuable Player Award.
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Bobby Bonds
Bobby Lee Bonds (March 15, 1946 – August 23, 2003) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball from 1968 to 1981, primarily with the San Francisco Giants. Noted for his outstanding combination of power hitting and speed, he was the first player to have more than two seasons of 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases, doing so a record five times (the record was matched only by his son Barry), and was the first to accomplish the feat in both major leagues; he became the second player to hit 300 career home runs and steal 300 bases, joining Willie Mays. Together with Barry, he is part of baseball's most accomplished father-son combination, holding the record for combined home runs, RBIs, and stolen bases [1]. A dangerous leadoff hitter, he also set major league records for most times leading off a game with a home run in a career (35) and a season (11, in 1973); both records have since been broken. He batted and threw right-handed.
Born in Riverside, California, Bonds played varsity high school baseball at Riverside Polytechnic High School and signed with the Giants in 1964. His sister Rosie was a 1964 Olympic hurdler, and his brother Robert won two gold medals in the hurdles at the high school track and field state finals in 1960, and was an NFL Draft pick in 1965. In 1964 he was a High School All-American in track & field, while also being named Southern California High School Athlete of the Year. Playing in the Giants' minor league system, he was Most Valuable Player of the class-A Western Carolina League.
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Bobby Crosby
Robert Edward Crosby (born January 12, 1980, in Lakewood, California) is an infielder in Major League Baseball who is currently a free agent. The son of former major league infielder Ed Crosby, he bats and throws right-handed. He was Rookie of the Year in 2004.
Crosby first attended Pacifica High School, and then later graduated from La Quinta High School in Westminster, California. In 1998, Bobby Crosby was selected by the Anaheim Angels in the thirty-fourth round of the Major League Baseball Draft. Crosby chose not to sign with the Angels, however, opting instead to play college baseball for California State University, Long Beach. In 2001, Crosby was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the first round (25th pick) of the Major League Baseball Draft.
In 2004, his first full season, he took over the Athletics' shortstop duties from 2002 American League Most Valuable Player Miguel Tejada, who signed with the Baltimore Orioles as a free agent. That year, Crosby hit .239 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs. He also led American League rookies in hits (130), doubles (34) and walks (58). These numbers earned Crosby Rookie of the Year honors, the sixth Athletics player to do so after Harry Byrd (1952), José Canseco (1986), Mark McGwire (1987), Walt Weiss (1988), and Ben Grieve (1998).
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Bobby Morrow
Bobby Joe Morrow (born October 15, 1935) is a former American athlete, winner of three Olympic gold medals in 1956. Morrow has been called "the dominant sprinter of the 1950s" and "the most relaxed sprinter of all time, even more so than his hero Jesse Owens".
Bobby Joe Morrow was born in Harlingen, Texas, and raised on a farm in San Benito, Texas. Before becoming a sprinter, Morrow played football for San Benito High School. Morrow also was a sprinter at Abilene Christian University and a member of the men's club Frater Sodalis.
Morrow won the 1955 AAU 100 yard title. His most successful season was in 1956, when he was chosen by Sports Illustrated as "Sportsman of the Year". Morrow won the sprint double in the national college championships and defended his AAU title. Morrow then went to the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, where he won three gold medals and was the leader of the American sprint team.
In all, Morrow won three gold medals. First, he was victorious in the 100 meter dash. He then led an American sweep of the medals in the 200 meter dash, while equaling the World Record at that distance. He won his third gold by anchoring the 4×100 meter relay team to a World Record time. The three performances are encapsulated in this youtube video.
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Bobby Orr
Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, OC (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Orr played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for his entire career, the first ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, joining the Chicago Black Hawks for two more. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest hockey players of all time. A defenceman, Orr used his ice skating speed and scoring and play-making abilities to revolutionize the position. As of 2011[update], Orr remains the only defenceman to have won the league scoring title with two Art Ross Trophies and holds the record for most points and assists in a single season by a defenceman. Orr won a record eight consecutive Norris Trophies as the NHL's best defenceman and three consecutive Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player (MVP). Orr was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979 at age 31, the youngest to that day to be inducted into the Hall.
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Bobby Richardson
Robert Clinton "Bobby" Richardson (born August 19, 1935) is a former second baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees from 1955 through 1966. Batting and throwing right-handed, he was a superb defensive infielder, as well as something of a clutch hitter, who played no small role in the Yankee baseball dynasty of his day. He is the only World Series MVP ever to be selected from the losing team. He wore the uniform number 1 (one) for the majority of his career (1958–1966).
Richardson debuted on August 5, 1955. He racked up 1,432 hits in his career, with a lifetime batting average of .266, 34 home runs and 390 RBIs. He won five Gold Gloves at second base, while forming a top double play combination with shortstop and roommate Tony Kubek. With the light-hitting but superb-fielding Yankee third baseman Clete Boyer, Richardson and Kubek gave the Yankees arguably the best defensive infield in baseball. His most famous defensive play came at the end of the 1962 World Series, mentioned below, when Richardson made a clutch catch of a Willie McCovey line drive that prevented Willie Mays and Matty Alou from scoring the runs that would have beaten the Yankees and given the Series to the San Francisco Giants.
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Bonnie Blair
Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964 in Cornwall, New York) is a retired American speedskater. She is one of the top skaters of her time, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, and in her Olympic career won five gold medals and one bronze medal.
Blair was raised in Champaign, Illinois. She attended Jefferson Middle School. After graduation from Centennial High School in Champaign, she moved to the Milwaukee area to train with the United States national speed skating team.
Blair appeared at her first Olympic games in Sarajevo in 1984. She failed to medal but finished eighth in the 500 meters. At the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Blair won gold in the 500 meters and bronze in the 1000 meters. In the 500 meters race, Blair set a world record by completing the event in 39.10 seconds. She won both the 500 and 1000 meters (1:21.90) again at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
Blair took advantage of a change of Olympic rules. In 1986, the International Olympic Committee voted to stage the Winter Olympics and Summer Olympics in alternating four year cycles. Thus, the next Winter Games would be held in February 1994 rather than in February 1996. The 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, were a coronation of sorts for Blair: She again won gold in the 500 meters (39.25) and 1000 (1:18.74) meters races, in dominating fashion. Blair finished 0.36 seconds ahead of the second best time in the 500 meters, and her 1.38 second margin in the 1000 meters race is the largest margin of victory in the history of the event. In the process she became the first American woman to win five gold medals. She also was the only American to have 6 medals at any Winter olympics, which record stood until Apolo Ohno tied it and then surpassed it at the 2010 Winter Olympics when he won a silver and two bronze medals in short track speed skating for eight career medals.
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Boone Logan
Boone Logan (born August 13, 1984 in San Antonio, Texas) is a left-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. Logan previously played for the Chicago White Sox from 2006–2008 and the Atlanta Braves in 2009.
Logan grew up in Helotes, Texas, and attended Sandra Day O'Connor High School.
He was selected in the 20th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft by the Chicago White Sox. He became a local sports news story after advancing from the Sox's Rookie League affiliate, the Great Falls White Sox, straight to the major league club during spring training in 2006.
On December 4, 2008, Logan was traded, along with Javier Vázquez, to the Atlanta Braves for minor league catcher Tyler Flowers, shortstop Brent Lillibridge, third baseman Jon Gilmore and pitcher Santos Rodriguez.
On December 22, 2009, Logan was once again traded along with Javier Vázquez, this time to the New York Yankees for Melky Cabrera, and prospects Michael Dunn and Arodys Vizcaino. On April 16, 2010 Logan was called up by the Yankees to replace Chan Ho Park in the Yankee bullpen.
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Brad Lidge
Bradley Thomas "Brad" Lidge (born December 23, 1976 in Sacramento, California) is a reliever who is currently a relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals. Nicknamed "Lights Out", he is the all-time leader in strikeouts per nine innings (12.2 K/9) among pitchers with at least 200 appearances in their career. Lidge throws a four-seam fastball that consistently reaches 91 or 92 miles per hour, as well as a hard, sharp breaking slider that ranges from 85 to 87 mph. He sealed the Phillies' 2008 World Series Championship with the final out, a strikeout of Eric Hinske in Game 5.
Brad Lidge was born in Sacramento, California on December 23, 1976. At a young age, the Lidge family moved to Englewood, Colorado. Growing up, Lidge was very active, playing football, basketball and baseball among other sports. Lidge attended Cherry Creek High School.
Lidge attended Notre Dame. He won the Big East player of the year award during his junior season under coach Paul Mainieri, leading the conference with an 8–2 record and 93 strikeouts in 80.1 innings.
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Brad Ziegler
Brad Gregory Ziegler (born October 10, 1979, in Pratt, Kansas) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Ziegler was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 31st round (938th overall) of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft, but he returned to Missouri State University for his senior year. Upon graduating, the Philadelphia Phillies drafted him in the 20th round (595th overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft.
He only threw six innings for the short season Batavia Muckdogs due to shoulder tendinitis. The Phillies released him a week before the start of the 2004 season because they felt he was not good enough to pitch in Low-A and too old to return to short season ball.[citation needed]
After pitching well in four starts for the Schaumburg Flyers, an independent Northern League team, the Oakland Athletics signed Ziegler and he went into the starting rotation for the High-A Modesto Athletics of the California League.
After a solid season helping Modesto to the league playoffs, while pitching in his first game Ziegler was hit in the head by a line drive off the bat of Fred Lewis, playing for the San Jose Giants at the time. Ziegler suffered a fracture of the skull but recovered in time to pitch again in 2005, earning a promotion to the Double-A Midland Rockhounds of the Texas League.
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Brandon Laird
Brandon J. Laird (born September 11, 1987) is a third baseman for the New York Yankees.
Laird attended La Quinta High School in Westminster, California. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 27th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign, opting to attend Cypress College. Laird was drafted by the Yankees in the 27th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft, and signed with the Yankees.
On August 2, 2010, Laird was promoted from Double A Trenton Thunder to Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Following the 2010 season, he was added to the Yankees' 40 man roster in order to protect him from the Rule V Draft.
Laird was named both the Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year of the Eastern League in 2010, following a breakout season.
Laird was promoted to the majors for the first time on July 18, 2011 when Ramiro Peña was placed on the disabled list.
On Friday July 22, 2011 at Yankee Stadium, Laird made his Major League debut, and got his first Major League hit and RBI against Oakland Athletics pitcher Craig Breslow on a single to center field. He scored his first run earlier in the game, scoring on a single by Nick Swisher after working a walk off of A's pitcher Joey Devine.
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Bret Saberhagen
Bret William Saberhagen ( /ˈseɪbərheɪɡɨn/; born April 11, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher.
Saberhagen was born in Chicago Heights, Illinois. He attended Grover Cleveland High School, located in Reseda, California. Saberhagen starred in both basketball and baseball. In 1982, during Bret's senior year, he pitched a no-hitter and was the winning pitcher in the Los Angeles City Championship game, played at Dodger Stadium.
Saberhagen was drafted out of high school by the Kansas City Royals in the 19th round of the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft and made his major league debut on April 4, 1984. He made an immediate impact with the team, compiling a 10–11 record and a 3.48 ERA. The Royals made the postseason but lost to the Detroit Tigers. Saberhagen pitched well in his first postseason start, giving up two runs in 8 innings.
In 1985, the 21-year-old Saberhagen established himself as the ace of the staff, going 20–6 with a 2.87 ERA, leading the Royals to a World Series championship (and being named MVP of the Series along the way, pitching two complete games in the Series, including a shutout in Game 7), and winning the American League Cy Young Award. He was also the subject of much media attention during the Series as his wife gave birth to his first son, Drew William, on the same night of the infamous Don Denkinger call. Saberhagen developed an odd pattern of successful years in odd-numbered years (1985, 1987, 1989, 1991) and poor performances in even-numbered years. In 1986, he was 7–12 with a 4.12 ERA. In 1987, another odd-numbered year, Saberhagen had an excellent year, going 18–10 with a 3.36 ERA. That record, however, was disappointing because Saberhagen had entered the All-Star break with a 15–3 record and another Cy Young Award seemingly in the bag. He pitched in the 1987 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, but he suffered a shoulder injury that hampered his second-half performance.
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Brett Favre
Brett Lorenzo Favre (born October 10, 1969) is a former American football quarterback who spent the majority of his career with the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He was a 20-year veteran of the NFL, having played quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons (1991), Green Bay Packers (1992–2007), New York Jets (2008) and Minnesota Vikings (2009–2010). Favre is the only quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 70,000 yards, over 500 touchdowns, over 300 interceptions, and over 10,000 pass attempts. He officially retired on January 17, 2011.
Favre started at the quarterback position for the University of Southern Mississippi for four years before being selected in the second round of the 1991 NFL Draft by Atlanta (33rd overall). He was traded to Green Bay on February 10, 1992, for the 19th pick in the 1992 NFL Draft.
Favre became the Packers' starting quarterback in the fourth game of the 1992 season, and started every game through the 2007 season. He was traded to the New York Jets and started at quarterback for the 2008 season before signing with the Vikings on August 18, 2009 as their starting quarterback. He made an NFL record 297 consecutive starts (321 including playoffs).
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Brett Gardner
Brett Michael Gardner (born August 24, 1983) is an American Major League Baseball left fielder for the New York Yankees. Gardner, who is 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m), bats and throws left-handed.
In 2001, Gardner attended walk-on tryouts for the baseball team at the College of Charleston. After the tryouts, Coach John Pawlowski told the players that he would contact them if they made the team. Without hearing a word from the coach, Gardner came to the field the next day for the first official practice, wearing his high school uniform. When Pawlowski asked Gardner why he was there, Gardner told him that he knew he was capable of playing at the Division I level. Pawlowski told Gardner that he could practice with the team, but if at any time if Pawlowski saw that Gardner wasn't capable then he would be let go.
Gardner was a three-year starter at the College of Charleston. In 2004, he was chosen to the All-Southern Conference Team. His .447 batting average was third in the nation in 2005, and his 122 hits tied for most in the country. His 85 runs in 2005 is the all-time record at College of Charleston, and his 38 stolen bases led the Southern Conference. He wrapped up his Cougar career as a third-team All-American and a second-time All-Southern Conference player, sporting a .382/.456/.508 career line, mostly from the lead-off spot.
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Brian Boehringer
Brian Edward Boehringer (born January 8, 1969 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched for the New York Yankees (1995–1997, 2001), San Diego Padres (1998–2000, San Francisco Giants (2001), and Pittsburgh Pirates (2002–2004). He attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and was drafted in the tenth round of the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft by the Houston Astros, but did not sign. He was again drafted in the fourth round of the 1991 Major League Baseball Draft by the Chicago White Sox. He made his major league debut on April 30, 1995, with the New York Yankees.
He won a World Series ring with the 1996 Yankees in only his second year as a pro. Two years later, as a San Diego Padre, he met the Yankees in the 1998 World Series, this time losing to them in four games.
In 2006, Boehringer went 2–4, with a 2.75 ERA with the Omaha Royals. He also played with the Toledo Mud Hens, where he went 3–1, with a 4.83 ERA. He also played for the independent Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League in 2006 and 2007.
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Brian Bruney
Brian Anthony Bruney (born on February 17, 1982, in Astoria, Oregon) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago White Sox organization. He has previously played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, and Washington Nationals.
Bruney was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks after graduating from Warrenton High School in 2000. Bruney pitched in the minors from 2000 to 2003, making his major league debut on May 8, 2004 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Bruney had a good rookie year with the Diamondbacks, posting a 4.31 ERA and striking out 34 batters in 31.1 innings. In 2005, the Diamondbacks tried Bruney as their closer, and he saved 12 games in 16 opportunities. Overall, the 2005 season turned out to be a poor showing for Bruney. He posted a 7.43 ERA in 46 innings. In May 2006, Bruney was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks. He was later signed as a minor league free agent by the New York Yankees.
Bruney pitched for the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. Bruney received a call-up to the big club. Armed with an upper-90's fastball, mid-80's curveball and an aggressive approach, Bruney took advantage of this second wind and quickly established himself as one of the better relief pitchers in the Yankees bullpen. Bruney finished 2006 with a 1-1 record and a 0.87 ERA in 19 games (20.2 innings).
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Brian Buchanan
Brian James Buchanan (born July 21, 1973 in Miami, Florida) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played for Fairfax High School in Fairfax, Virginia, where he excelled not only at hitting but at pitching as well and was named First Team All-Region for all of Northern Virginia. He once played for the St. Paul Saints of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. He played in Major League Baseball from 2000 through 2004.
A standout player at the University of Virginia, Brian was drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round (24th overall) of the 1994 amateur draft. In February 1998, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins in the trade that sent Chuck Knoblauch to the Yankees. "Buck" enjoyed his time in Minnesota and had career years as a Twin. In July 2002, he was traded to the San Diego Padres for Jason Bartlett. During his time with the Padres, he was considered one of the most feared right-handed pinch hitters in the game. He was one of the few hitters in the league who would wear 1 batting glove. The batting glove company, Franklin, decided to come out with a signature "Buck" batting glove. Those who bought the glove were said to have an improved swing and would get caught looking more often. In parts of five seasons in the majors, he hit .258 in 767 at bats, hitting 32 home runs in the process. Brian "Buck" Buchanan is the son-in-law of the Boston Celtics great John Havlicek.
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Brian Cashman
Brian McGuire Cashman (born July 3, 1967) is an American Major League Baseball executive for the New York Yankees. He has been their General Manager and Senior Vice President since 1998.
Cashman was born in Rockville Centre, New York and raised in Washingtonville, New York. He was raised in an Irish Catholic family. He moved with his family to Lexington, Kentucky, where his father John managed a farm that raised standardbreds for harness racing. He attended Lexington Catholic High School before moving to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. He graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School in 1985.
He attended The Catholic University of America, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1989. He was a four-year starter at second base and the leadoff hitter for the Cardinals' baseball team. He set a school record for most hits in a season, which has since been broken.
Cashman started with the New York Yankees organization as an intern in 1986. In February 1998, he was named Senior Vice-President and General Manager, succeeding Bob Watson.
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Brian Fuentes
Brian Christopher Fuentes ( /ˈfwɛntɨs/; born August 9, 1975) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher who currently plays for the Oakland Athletics. Previously, he played for the Seattle Mariners, the Colorado Rockies, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and the Minnesota Twins. He bats and throws left-handed.
Fuentes was born in in Merced, California, and attended high school at Merced High School in Merced, California. After graduating from high school, Fuentes attended Merced Junior college.
Fuentes was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 25th round of the 1995 amateur draft. He spent one season for the Mariners appearing in ten games.
On December 16, 2001, Fuentes was traded to the Colorado Rockies, along with Jose Paniagua and Denny Stark for Jeff Cirillo. Through the first four years of his Major League career, Fuentes had a record of 8-8 with a 4.04 ERA, recording only four saves in 163 games. However, in 2005, Fuentes took over the closer role for the Rockies following the season-ending shoulder surgery of right-handed pitcher Chin-hui Tsao. Fuentes had a successful season and was named to his first career All-Star Game, but did not appear in the game. He became the first reliever and only the third pitcher overall to represent the Rockies, joining starting pitchers Mike Hampton (2001) and Shawn Chacon (2003). His 31 saves matched Dave Veres (1995) for the third highest single season total in franchise history, trailing only José Jiménez (41 in 2002) and Chacon (35 in 2004). In 2006, Fuentes earned 30 saves while posting a 3-4 record and a 3.44 ERA and was selected as an All-Star for the second time. Fuentes got his first career postseason win in Game 3 of the 2007 NLDS when the Rockies won the series against the Phillies in 3 games. The Rockies would eventually make it to the World Series for the first time in franchise history but lost to the Boston Red Sox in the 2007 World Series in just 4 games.
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Brian Roberts
Brian Michael Roberts (born October 9, 1977) is an American Major League Baseball All Star second baseman, nicknamed B-Rob.
He made his Major League debut in 2001 and has spent his entire professional career with the Baltimore Orioles organization, located in Baltimore, Maryland.
Born in Durham, North Carolina, Roberts lived in Chapel Hill,, North Carolina, as his father was the baseball coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). He graduated from Chapel Hill High School.
During his freshman year in 1997 at UNC, Roberts hit .427, with 102 hits, 24 doubles, 47 SB and was named to the NCBWA Second Team and the Collegiate Baseball Third Team. His sophomore year, he hit .353, 13 HR, 49 RBI, 21 doubles, 63 SB and was named to the NCBWA 1st Team, The Sporting News 2nd Team and the Collegiate Baseball 2nd Team.
His 63 stolen bases were more than any player in college baseball that year. He became the first Tar Heel to be named ACC player of the year, and was a first team All-America.
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Brian Schneider
Brian Duncan Schneider (born November 26, 1976) is an American Major League Baseball catcher.
Schneider was born in Jacksonville, Florida to Peter and Karen Schneider. He has one sister.
Schneider played high school baseball at Northampton Area High School in Northampton, Pennsylvania, in the state's highly competitive East Penn Conference (now known as the Lehigh Valley Conference). He was named Player of the Year in Lehigh Valley in both 1994 and 1995.
Schneider was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 1995 June draft. In 1997 at the Class-A Cape Fear Crocs of the South Atlantic League, Schneider emerged as a premiere defensive player while accumulating solid offensive numbers and was named to the mid-season All-Star team.
After making a strong impression at the Expos spring training in 2000, Schneider was called up to the majors following an injury to regular catcher Chris Widger. Schneider made his major league debut on May 26, 2000 at San Diego, going 0-for-1 after coming into the game as a defensive replacement in the 9th inning. The following day he made his first start, going 2-for-3 including a double in the 6th inning for his first major league hit.
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Brien Taylor
Brien McKeiver Taylor (born December 26, 1971) is a former pitcher in minor league baseball. Chosen by the New York Yankees first overall in the 1991 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft, an arm injury shortened his professional career. Taylor is the second amateur player to be picked first overall in the MLB draft to never reach the major leagues. The first was Steve Chilcott, in 1966.
Taylor was born in Beaufort, North Carolina, to parents Willie Ray, who worked as a mason, and Bettie, who was a crab picker at the local seafood plant. He was the second of four children, named for the lead character in the movie Brian's Song.
Taylor attended East Carteret High School. In his senior season, Taylor threw 88 innings, striking out 213 hitters while walking 28. His fastball often hit 98 and 99 mph. In 2006, Scott Boras claimed that Taylor was the best high school pitcher he had seen in his life.
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Bronson Sardinha
Bronson Kiheimahanaomauiakeo Sardinha (born April 6, 1983 in Honolulu, Hawaii) is a Major League Baseball outfielder.
Sardinha was drafted directly out of Kamehameha High School in the 1st round of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft. Sardinha had a mixed minor league career in the New York Yankees organization, playing in a variety of infield and outfield spots.
Sardinha made his major league debut on September 15, 2007, against the Boston Red Sox. Coming into the game in the bottom of the 8th inning as a defensive replacement, he got his first at-bat in the top of the ninth inning. Facing Bryan Corey, on the first pitch, he grounded into a game ending double play. Bronson got his first major league hit against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on September 27, 2007, against Scott Kazmir.
Sardinha was designated for assignment by the Yankees on December 8, 2007, in order to make room for the re-signed Andy Pettitte on the 40-man roster. Sardinha was not offered a new contract by the Yankees and became a free agent on December 12, 2007.
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Brooks Robinson
Brooks Calbert Robinson, Jr. (born May 18, 1937) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire 23-year major league career for the Baltimore Orioles (1955–1977). Nicknamed "The Human Vacuum Cleaner", he is generally acclaimed as the greatest defensive third-basemen in major league history. He won 16 consecutive Gold Glove Awards during his career, tied with pitcher Jim Kaat for the second most all-time for any player at any position. Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Born in Little Rock, Arkansas to Brooks Calbert and Ethel Mae (née Donkey) Robinson. His father worked for a large bakery in Little Rock, Colonial Bakery, and then went to work for the Little Rock Fire Department (rising to the rank of captain ), while his mother at first worked for Sears Roebuck & Company, and then in the controller's office at the state capitol. His father played second base for a semi-pro team. Young Brooks Robinson, Jr., delivered the Arkansas Gazette on his bike, and also operated the beer and sold wine at Lamar Porter Field.
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Bruce Sutter
Howard Bruce Sutter ( /ˈsuːtər/; born January 8, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He was arguably the first pitcher to make effective use of the splitter.
One of the sport's dominant relievers in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he became the only pitcher to lead the National League in saves five times (1979–1982, 1984), and retired with 300 saves – at the time, the third highest total in history, behind Rollie Fingers (341) and Rich "Goose" Gossage (302), and an NL record until broken by Lee Smith in 1993; Sutter had set the NL record in 1982 with his 194th save, surpassing the mark held by Roy Face. In his first nine seasons, only Kent Tekulve made more appearances, and he saved 133 of the Chicago Cubs' 379 wins between 1976 and 1980. In 1979, Sutter won the NL's Cy Young Award as the league's top pitcher. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 2006.
Sutter graduated from Donegal High School. Sutter was a member of three different teams during his career from 1976 to 1988. After being selected by the Washington Senators in the 21st round of the June 1970 draft, Sutter instead attended Old Dominion University, and later signed with the Cubs as a free agent in September 1971. He spent slightly over four seasons in the Cubs' farm system, and played on the 1975 Texas League (AA) champion Midland Cubs. It was in the Cubs' farm system that Sutter was taught the split-finger fastball by minor league pitching instructor Fred Martin. He joined the Chicago Cubs in May 1976, and after five seasons was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Leon Durham and Ken Reitz in December 1980, and then joined the Atlanta Braves in December 1984 as a free agent.
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Buck Martinez
John Albert "Buck" Martinez (born November 7, 1948) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and manager, and currently the television play-by-play announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays. He played 17 seasons in the majors with the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue Jays. Since the end of his playing career, he has been a broadcaster, working on Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles radio and television broadcasts, and nationally for TBS.
Martinez managed the Toronto Blue Jays from 2001 to May 2002 and Team USA at the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006. He attended Elk Grove High School, Sacramento City College, Sacramento State University and Southwest Missouri State University.
Martinez made his major league debut in 1969, playing 72 games with the Kansas City Royals. Over the next few years, however, he developed the reputation of being an offensive liability, and he never appeared in more than 95 games during his time with Kansas City, through 1977.
Martinez was traded twice over the next few years, including to the Milwaukee Brewers in late 1977. In the midst of an 18–8 loss to Kansas City on Wednesday, August 29, 1979, the Brewers made several position changes, willingly losing their DH in the process. Amongst other moves, 3B Sal Bando was moved to pitcher in the 4th inning – he hurled three innings, going to bat in the fifth as a pitcher and popping up. In the 7th, Bando and 2B Jim Gantner switched positions, though while a pitcher Gantner never made it to the plate as a batter. The next inning, Martinez entered the game as the Brewers sixth pitcher of the day. As a pitcher, Martinez batted in the 9th, stroking an RBI single. For each of Bando, Gantner and Martinez, all of whom played in over 1,000 ML games, this game was their lone appearance in the majors as a pitcher. [1]
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Bucky Dent
Russell Earl "Bucky" Dent (born Russell Earl O'Dey; November 25, 1951), is a former American Major League Baseball player and manager. He earned two World Series rings as the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees in 1977 and 1978, and was voted the World Series MVP in 1978. Dent is most famous for his home run in a tie-breaker game against the Boston Red Sox at the end of the 1978 season.
Dent was born 25 November 1951, in Savannah, Georgia, to Dennis O'Dey and Russell "Shorty" Stanford. He went home from the hospital with his mother's brother and his wife, James Earl and Sarah Dent. He and his half-brother were raised by the Dents, and they changed his last name to theirs, but his mother would not allow them to legally adopt him. He and his half-brother thought of the Dents as their parents, and until he was ten years old, Dent believed his biological mother was his aunt. Later in life, she mentioned the name of his father, whom Dent tracked down and developed a relationship with.
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Buddy Bell
David Gus "Buddy" Bell (born August 27, 1951 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a former third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. After an 18-year career with four teams, most notably the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, he managed the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals for three seasons each. He is the son of outfielder Gus Bell and the father of third basemen David and Mike. He is currently the Director of Operations for the Chicago White Sox Minor League system.
Bell was born while his father was playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was drafted in 1969 by the Indians and was regarded as a promising prospect from the beginning. He first appeared in the Major Leagues with the Indians in 1972, appearing mostly in the outfield as a rookie, but afterwards becoming a fixture at third base. Bell was a solid, but not overpowering, right-handed hitter on a mostly lackluster Indians team. He was named to the All-Star team in 1973.
After the 1978 season Bell was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Toby Harrah – another solid, veteran third baseman. Bell enjoyed his best season with the Rangers in 1979, collecting 200 hits, 101 RBI, and his first Gold Glove Award. From 1979 through 1984, Bell won the gold glove for third base in The American League. He also won the silver slugger award in 1984. He finished in the top 10 in Batting Average in 1980 and 1984.
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Cap Anson
Adrian Constantine Anson (April 17, 1852 – April 14, 1922), nicknamed "Cap" (for "Captain") and "Pop", was a National Association and Major League Baseball first baseman. He played a record 27 consecutive seasons, and was regarded as one of the greatest players of his era and one of the first superstars of the game.
Anson spent most of his career with the Chicago Cubs franchise (then known as the "White Stockings" and later the "Colts"), serving as the club's manager, first baseman and, later in his tenure, minority owner. He led the team to five National League pennants in the 1880s. Anson was one of baseball's first great hitters, and the first to tally over 3,000 career hits.
His contemporary influence and prestige are regarded by historians as playing a major role in establishing the racial segregation in professional baseball that persisted until the late 1940s.. However, a 2006 biography of Anson that exhaustively examined 19th-century newspaper reporting related to him on the subject of racism reached the following conclusion: "As far as the nineteenth century, he rightfully should endure as the big leaguer who, until the late 1940s, was involved in the greatest number of reported negative incidents, on the field, relating to blacks." On several occasions, Anson refused to take the field when the opposing roster included black players. "But at the same time, his argumentative nature could be readily discounted by those around him. So, the notion that he had 'coattails' in persuading players and officials on other teams to do as he did is rather spurious."
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Carl Crawford
Carl Demonte "The Perfect Storm" Crawford (born August 5, 1981, in Houston, Texas) is an American professional baseball outfielder who plays for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws left-handed. Crawford has more triples (110) than any other active baseball player.
Crawford, a native of the Fifth Ward area of Houston, attended Jefferson Davis High School in Houston, Texas, and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. In baseball, he batted .638 as a senior. Crawford was offered scholarships to play basketball as a point guard at UCLA. He also had an option to play college football as an option quarterback at Nebraska,USC, Oklahoma, Florida, and Tulsa. He had originally signed a letter of intent to play football for Nebraska but he turned down both offers in favor of a baseball career.
Crawford was drafted by the Devil Rays in the second round (52nd overall) of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft.
In 2002, the Tampa Bay chapter of the BBWAA named Crawford the Devil Rays' Most Outstanding Rookie and he earned International League Rookie of the Year playing for the AAA Durham Bulls.[citation needed]
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Carl Everett
Carl Edward Everett III (born June 3, 1971) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is currently an outfielder for the Newark Bears of the independent Atlantic League. A switch hitter, he played with the Chicago White Sox on their 2005 World Series winning team. He throws right-handed and plays all outfield positions, and occasionally designated hitter.
Everett attended Hillsborough High School in Tampa, Florida and was a letterman in football, baseball, and track. In football, he garnered 948 rushing yards as a senior. Everett graduated from Hillsborough High School in 1990[citation needed].
He was the 10th overall pick in the 1990 Major League Baseball Draft, selected by the New York Yankees. He was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 1992 MLB expansion draft, and made his major league debut with the Marlins on July 1, 1993.
Everett was traded to the Mets after the 1994 season for Quilvio Veras. He had his first full season in 1997 with 443 at-bats. He hit .248 that season, with a .420 slugging percentage.
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Carl Yastrzemski
Carl Michael Yastrzemski ( /jəˈstrɛmski/; nicknamed "Yaz"; born August 22, 1939) is a former American Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989. Yastrzemski played his entire 23-year baseball career with the Boston Red Sox (1961–1983). He was primarily a left fielder, with part of his later career played at first base and as a designated hitter. Yastrzemski is an 18-time All-Star, the possessor of seven Gold Gloves, a member of the 3000 hit club, and the first American League player in that club to also accumulate over 400 home runs. He is second on the all-time list for games played, and third for total at-bats. He is the Red Sox' all-time leader in career RBIs, runs, hits, singles, doubles, total bases, and games played, and is second on the team's list for home runs behind another Red Sox great, Ted Williams, his predecessor in left field. In 1967, Yastrzemski achieved a peak in his career, leading the Red Sox to the American League pennant for the first time in over two decades, in that season being voted the American League MVP, and being the most recent winner of the triple crown for batters in the major leagues.
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Carlos Beltrán
Carlos Iván Beltrán (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkarloz βelˈtɾan]; born April 24, 1977 in Manatí, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball.
In his youth, Beltrán excelled in many sports, with volleyball and baseball being his favorites. At his father's urging, he gave up volleyball to concentrate on baseball when he was seventeen. Graduating from Fernando Callejo High School in 1995, the highly-regarded five tool player was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the second round of that year's amateur baseball draft.
After selecting Beltrán in the 1995 Major League Baseball Draft, the Kansas City Royals assigned him to their rookie-level team in the Gulf Coast League, the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Beltrán made his Major League debut on September 14, 1998, playing 15 games. Going into 1999, he won the job as the Royals' starting center fielder and leadoff hitter. He displayed significant power by midsummer, and was moved to the #3 slot in the batting order. Beltrán won the American League Rookie of the Year award, batting .293 with 22 home runs, 108 RBI and 27 stolen bases. On September 27, 1999, Beltran made the final out at Tiger Stadium striking out against relief pitcher Todd Jones as the Detroit Tigers beat the Royals 8–2.
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Carlos Delgado
Carlos Juan Delgado Hernández (born June 25, 1972) is a retired Puerto Rican professional baseball player. With 473 home runs and 1,512 RBI, he holds the all-time home run and RBI records among Puerto Rican players. He is one of only six players in Major League history to hit 30 home runs in ten consecutive seasons, becoming the fourth player to do so.
During his twelve years with the Toronto Blue Jays, Delgado set many team records, including home runs (336), RBI (1,058), walks (827), slugging percentage (.556), OPS (.949), runs (889), total bases (2,786), doubles (343), runs created (1,077), extra base hits (690), times on base (2,362), hit by pitch (122), intentional walks (128) and at bats per home run (14.9). Delgado also played for the Florida Marlins and New York Mets.
Delgado was born in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico to Carlos "Cao" Delgado and Carmen Digna Hérnandez. He grew up in the El Prado section of Aguadilla. There, he attended elementary school alongside his three siblings. Both his father, "Don Cao", and his grandfather, Asdrúbal "Pingolo" Delgado, were well-known figures in the town. Carlos has said that this made him feel "protected", but that it also demanded that he had to behave properly.
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Carlton Fisk
Carlton Ernest Fisk (born December 26, 1947), nicknamed "Pudge" or "The Commander", is a retired Major League Baseball catcher. During a 24-year baseball career, he played for both the Boston Red Sox (1969, 1971–1980) and Chicago White Sox (1981–1993).
Fisk was known by the nickname "Pudge" due to his 6'2", 220 lb frame. He was the first player to be unanimously voted American League Rookie of the Year (1972). Fisk is best known for "waving fair" his game-winning home run in the 12th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series. At the time of his retirement in 1993, he held the record for most home runs all-time by a catcher with 351 (since passed by Mike Piazza). Fisk held the record for most games played at the position of catcher (2,226) until June 17, 2009 when he was surpassed by another "Pudge," Iván Rodríguez. Fisk still holds the American League record for most years served behind the plate (24). Fisk was voted to the All-Star team 11 times and won 3 Silver Slugger Awards which is awarded annually to the best offensive player at each position. Fisk was known as a fierce competitor, a superb handler of pitchers and a natural on-field leader. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2000.
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CC Sabathia
Carsten Charles "CC" Sabathia (born July 21, 1980) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Upon signing with the Yankees prior to the 2009 season, Sabathia became the highest paid pitcher in MLB history.
Sabathia played the first seven and a half seasons of his career with the Cleveland Indians, where he won the 2007 Cy Young Award. He played the second half of the 2008 MLB season with the Milwaukee Brewers, leading them to the Wild Card, their first playoff appearance in 26 years. Sabathia is regarded as one of the most durable pitchers in MLB, having easily amassed an average of over 200 innings pitched per season during his career.
Sabathia was born in Vallejo, California, and attended Vallejo High School, where he lettered in baseball, basketball, and football. As a teenager, Sabathia played summer baseball in the Major League Baseball youth program Rebuilding Baseball in Inner cities (RBI). In baseball, he compiled a win-loss record of 6–0 with an 0.77 earned run average (ERA) with 14 hits, and 82 strikeouts in 46 2⁄3 innings pitched during his senior season. Coming out of the draft he was the top high school prospect in Northern California according to Baseball America.
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Cecil Cooper
Cecil Celester Cooper (born December 20, 1949 in Brenham, Texas), nicknamed "Coop," is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball and the former manager of the Houston Astros. From 1971 through 1987, Cooper played for the Boston Red Sox (1971–76) and Milwaukee Brewers (1977–87). He batted and threw left-handed, and attended Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas.
Cecil Cooper was born on December 20, 1949, in Brenham, Texas, a city with a population of 13,000 and located 70 miles northwest of Houston. Raised in nearby Independence, Cooper was the youngest of 13 children, seven boys and six girls. Cooper's mother Ocie died when he was just 10. His ball-playing father, Roy, worked with a nearby Department of Public Works. A 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) left-hander, Cecil was taught baseball by his brothers John, Sylvester, and Jessie. John and Sylvester later played with the barnstorming Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues.* John as a pitcher while Sylvester was a catcher who according to Cecil once caught Satchel Paige According to a 1980 Sports Illustrated story, father Roy also played in the Negro Leagues.
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Cecil Fielder
Cecil Grant Fielder ( /ˈsɛsəl/; born September 21, 1963 in Los Angeles, California) is a former professional baseball player who was a noted power hitter in the 1980s and 1990s. He attended college at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He played with the Toronto Blue Jays (1985–88), Detroit Tigers (1990–96), New York Yankees (1996–97), Anaheim Angels and Cleveland Indians (both in 1998). In 1990, he became the first player to reach the 50-home run mark since George Foster hit 52 for the Cincinnati Reds in 1977. He is the father of Detroit Tigers first baseman/designated hitter Prince Fielder, considered one the best current power hitter hitters in Major League Baseball.
Cecil Fielder was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 31st round of the 1981 amateur draft, but did not sign. He was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 4th round of the 1982 amateur draft, and this time did sign. In 1983, he was traded by the Royals to the Toronto Blue Jays for Leon Roberts.
A part-time first and third baseman for the Blue Jays, Fielder had hit 31 home runs with 84 runs batted in during four seasons. The Hanshin Tigers signed him after the 1988 season. With Toronto, he earned $125,000 per season; the Hanshin Tigers paid him $1,050,000 ($1,968,644 today), including a chauffeur and a full-time interpreter. More than the money, he said, he went to Japan for the opportunity to play every day. He became a hero to the local baseball fans that nicknamed him "Wild Bear" (wild, in Japan, is the image of power; bear, for his hulking presence).
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Chad Cordero
Chad Patrick Cordero (born March 18, 1982 in Upland, California) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He broke into the big league ranks with the Montreal Expos. During the period of 2005 - 2007 he racked up 113 saves, second most in the National League behind Trevor Hoffman's 131
At age 18, Cordero was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 26th round of the 2000 draft, but he chose to enroll at Cal State Fullerton, where he was a standout reliever. With an ERA of under 1.83 he made the 1st team All-America Freshman team and was selected to the Big West All-Conference team, the latter of which he repeated in each of his next two years. In 2003, he was the Fullerton Regional MVP (College World Series), and then was drafted by the Expos in the 1st round (20th overall).
He pitched briefly in 2003, and then appeared in 69 games for the Expos in 2004, compiling an ERA of 2.94, usually appearing as a closer. He was the winning pitcher in the franchise's last Montreal Expo victory, October 2 against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium.
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Chad Curtis
Chad Curtis (born November 6, 1968 in Marion, Indiana) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1992-2001, notably for the New York Yankees. He also played for the California Angels (his original team), Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers.
Over his career he compiled a .264 batting average and hit 101 home runs.
Curtis made his major league debut in 1992, playing in 139 games at all three outfield positions. He compiled a .256 average with 10 home runs and 46 runs batted in, also stealing 43 bases, but was thrown out 18 times. The next season, Curtis hit .285 with 59 runs batted in, but led the league with 24 times caught stealing. In the strike-shortened 1994 season, he played in 114 games, hitting 11 home runs with 50 runs batted in before the abrupt end to the season. On April 13, 1995, he was traded to the Tigers for Tony Phillips.
During his first season as a Tiger, Curtis hit .268 with 21 homers and 67 runs batted in, while leading the league with 670 plate appearances. In 1996, he played in 104 games with Detroit hitting .263 with 10 home runs and 37 runs batted in. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on July 31, 1996 for John Cummings and Joey Eischen.
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Chad Gaudin
Chad Edward Gaudin ( /ɡoʊˈdæn/; born March 24, 1983 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball. He has been used as a both a starting pitcher and a reliever throughout his career, functioning as a "swingman."
Gaudin attended Crescent City Baptist High School in Metairie, Louisiana. He earned All-State and district MVP in his junior and senior years.
Gaudin was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays out of high school in the 34th round (1009th overall pick) of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft. He signed on August 23, 2001, and did not play professionally until 2002. He played in Single-A in 2002 and recorded a 2.26 ERA which ranked him 10th in all of minor league baseball.
On July 15, 2003, in his first start after getting called up from the Single-A California League, Gaudin took the mound in the first game of a doubleheader for the Double-A Orlando Rays on the road against the Jacksonville Suns and threw a 7-inning perfect game, retiring all 21 batters he faced. (Two 7-inning games is the standard for a doubleheader in most minor leagues; Major League Baseball would later amend a rule recognizing only efforts of at least nine innings as official perfect games.) Gaudin made only two more starts and posted an 0.47 ERA for Orlando before Devil Rays' Manager Lou Piniella summoned him to the big league club.
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Chad Mottola
Charles Edward "Chad" Mottola (born October 15, 1971 in Augusta, Georgia) is a retired American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who is currently the hitting coach for the Las Vegas 51s of minor league baseball's Class-AAA Pacific Coast League. He was born in Augusta, Georgia and grew up in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
Mottola is an alumnus of the University of Central Florida (UCF), where he played college baseball for the UCF Knights baseball team. The Cincinnati Reds selected Mottola with the fifth overall selection of the 1992 MLB Draft. In his MLB career, Mottola played for Cincinnati (1996), the Toronto Blue Jays (2000, 2006), the Florida Marlins (2001) and the Baltimore Orioles (2004). He appeared in 59 MLB games and 1,801 minor league games.
Mottola attended St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, graduating in 1989. After leading all Broward County high school players in batting average (.573), home runs (14) and runs batted in (RBIs) (48) as a senior, Mottola was named to Florida's Class 3A All-State first team. Out of high school, the Baltimore Orioles selected Mottola in the tenth round of the 1989 Major League Baseball Draft, with the 243rd overall selection. Mottola did not sign with the Orioles, opting to pursue a college baseball career.
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Chan Ho Park
Chan Ho Park (Korean: 박찬호, born June 30, 1973) is a South Korean professional baseball pitcher for the Hanwha Eagles of Korea Baseball Organization. He previously played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. He was the first South Korean-born player in major league history. He is 6'1" (185 cm) tall and weighs 210 lbs (95 kg).
As a high school player in South Korea, he won team Most Valuable Player honors three consecutive seasons at Kongju High School in Kongju, South Korea. He also was named the MVP at four national prep tournaments.
Park was a member of the 1992 and 1993 South Korea national baseball team. He posted a 2.76 ERA in helping South Korea earn the silver medal at the Asian Baseball Championship in 1993. He also competed in Summer Universiade in July 1993, and led his team to the silver medal.
Park was a sophomore at Hanyang University, Seoul in 1994 when he was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent.
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Charlie Hayes
Charles Dewayne Hayes (born May 29, 1965 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed.
The San Francisco Giants drafted Hayes in the fourth round of the 1983 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft. He made his MLB debut with the Giants on September 11, 1988, where he hit .091 over seven games.
On June 18, 1989, the Giants traded Hayes with Dennis Cook and Terry Mulholland to the Philadelphia Phillies for Steve Bedrosian and a player to be named later, who turned out to be Rick Parker. On August 15, 1990, he was a decisive part of a unique baseball game. While Mulholland pitched a no hitter, not giving up a single hit, walking, or hitting a batsman, and retired every opposing player he faced, Parker, reached base on a throwing error by Hayes, spoiling an otherwise perfect game. Hayes later redeemed himself, however, by snaring Gary Carter's line drive for the final out of the 9th inning and thus preserved Mulholland's no-hitter.
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Charlie Spikes
Leslie Charles Spikes (born January 23, 1951, in Bogalusa, Louisiana) was a Major League Baseball player from 1972 to 1980 for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, and Atlanta Braves. He also played 26 games for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan in 1981. He mostly played the outfield. His playing career nickname was "The Bogalusa Bomber."
Spikes was drafted in the first round of the 1969 Major League Baseball Draft by the Yankees. He made his major league debut with the Yankees in 1972. Following the 1972 season, he was traded by the Yankees with John Ellis, Jerry Kenney and Rusty Torres to the Indians for Graig Nettles and Jerry Moses. He played for the Indians through the 1977 season, when he was traded to the Tigers for Tom Veryzer.
He is referenced in the fifth-ever episode of Cheers, "The Coach's Daughter," during a scene in which Coach Ernie Pantuso is encouraged to and finally does confront his daughter about her fiance.
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Chase Utley
Chase Cameron Utley ( /ˈʌtliː/; born December 17, 1978) is a second baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. A native of the Greater Los Angeles area, he was raised in the city of Long Beach. He was a star baseball player at Long Beach Polytechnic High School, before moving on to UCLA. He now currently plays for the Philadelphia Phillies as a second basemen.
Utley bats left-handed and throws right-handed. Since becoming a permanent fixture as the Phillies' second baseman, Utley has demonstrated versatility, spending some time at first base as well. As his fielding has improved over his career, Utley is seen in combination with Jimmy Rollins as one of the best middle-infield combinations in the NL. Utley is considered by fans to be a team leader, alongside Rollins and Ryan Howard.
Utley played in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Cotuit Kettleers, an amateur baseball team, in 1999 while he was still attending UCLA. After his summer experience with Cotuit and college career, Utley was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the first round (15th pick) of the 2000 amateur draft and played for the Phillies' farm system with the Batavia Muckdogs (A-short season; now a Cardinals affiliate) in 2000, the Clearwater Phillies (A, now Clearwater Threshers) in 2001, and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (AAA; now a Yankees affiliate) in 2002 and 2003.
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Chili Davis
Charles Theodore "Chili" Davis (born January 17, 1960 in Kingston, Jamaica) is the hitting coach for the Oakland Athletics. Davis is a former outfielder/designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball with the San Francisco Giants (1981–87), California Angels (1988–90, 1993–96), Minnesota Twins (1991–92), Kansas City Royals (1997) and New York Yankees (1998–99). Davis was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. He is the first ballplayer born in Jamaica to appear in a major league game.
In a 19-year career, Davis was a .274 hitter with 350 home runs and 1,372 RBI in 2,436 games.
Davis was an outfielder developed in the Giants minors system. In his first regular season in 1982, he hit .261 with 19 HR, 76 RBI and 24 stolen bases, and also led all National League outfielders in assists. In 1984 Davis finished third in NL batting average (.315), behind Tony Gwynn (.351) and Lee Lacy (.321). Davis' game highs that season included him going 4-for-4 and 4-for-5 in games played on Aug. 2 and Sept. 16 respectively. When he led the league in fielding errors in 1986, his nine errors tied the major league record for fewest errors by a category leader. After five seasons in San Francisco, including two All-Star appearances in 1984 and 1986, Davis signed with the Angels as a free agent before the 1988 season.
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Chipper Jones
Larry Wayne "Chipper" Jones, Jr. (born April 24, 1972) is an American professional baseball third baseman with the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball. Although initially a shortstop, he has spent most of his career as the starting third baseman for the Braves. In 2002 and 2003, Jones primarily played left field, before returning to third base in 2004.
Jones debuted in 1993, and has played his entire career with the Atlanta Braves. Chipper won the 1999 National League Most Valuable Player Award, as well as the 1999 and 2000 National League Silver Slugger Award for third basemen. He currently holds the Braves team record for career on base percentage (.406), and on July 5, 2007, he passed Dale Murphy for third place on the Braves all-time career home run list.
In his career, through the 2011 season, Jones is a .304 hitter with 454 home runs, 1,455 walks, and 1,561 RBI in 2,387 games. He is behind only Eddie Murray on the all-time switch hitters career RBI list. He is considered one of the game's best all-around hitters, and one of the best switch hitters in the history of the game. He is the only switch hitter in Major League Baseball history to have a .300+ career (.304 at the end of the 2011 season) batting average and 400 or more home runs.
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Chris Chambliss
Carroll Christopher Chambliss (born December 26, 1948) is a former Major League Baseball player who played from 1971 to 1988 for the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. On November 4, 2010, Chambliss was hired as the hitting coach of the Seattle Mariners.
Chambliss led the American Association with a .342 batting average while playing for the Wichita Aeros in 1970.
In 1970, Chambliss was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 1st round (1st pick overall) of the free-agent draft (January 17, 1970) and in 1971, was named AL Rookie of the Year. Chambliss played first base and was known as a great clutch hitter throughout his career.
He was dealt to the Yankees from the Indians in April 1974 along with pitchers Cecil Upshaw and Dick Tidrow for Fritz Peterson, Fred Beene, Tom Buskey, and Steve Kline in a much criticized multi-player deal.
In 1976, he received his only selection to the All-Star team.
In the 1976 American League Championship Series, his first-pitch, walk off home run off Mark Littell of the Kansas City Royals gave the Yankees their first trip to the World Series since 1964.
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Chris Evert
Christine Marie "Chris" Evert (born December 21, 1954) is a former world #1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No. 1 singles player in 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, and 1981.
Evert's career win–loss record in singles matches of 1,309–145 (90.05%) is the best of any professional player, man or woman, in the Open Era. On clay courts her career match win loss rate of 94.05% (316/20) remains a WTA record. In tennis writer Steve Flink's book The Greatest Tennis Matches of the Twentieth Century, he named Evert as the third best female player of the 20th century, after Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova. Evert never lost in the first or second rounds of a Grand Slam singles tournament. She won 157 singles championships. In women's doubles, Evert won three Grand Slam titles and 29 regular tour championships.
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Chris Iannetta
Christopher Domenic Iannetta (born April 8, 1983, in Providence, Rhode Island) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball.
He went to St. Ann School in Providence, Rhode Island, and attended St. Raphael Academy, a Roman Catholic high school in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. His jersey was retired there, and is hung there for all to see. He was awarded All-State honors on three consecutive occasions. He was awarded the C. Dona Manyard Award which is given to a male athlete who excels in the classroom and on the field. Graduated from St. Raphael Academy high school in 2001.
Chris Iannetta is the son of Maria and Domenic Iannetta, brother of Matt, husband of Lisa and father of Ashlyn.
Iannetta attended the University of North Carolina and played catcher and first base.He played on the 2002 Chatham A's of the Cape Cod League, and is featured in the book The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream by Jim Collins. As a sophomore in 2003, he finished fourth on the squad with a .319 batting average and ranked third with 55 RBI. Ianetta was named to the NCAA Starkville Regional All-Tournament Team and tallied five hits and four RBI in the Tar Heels' NCAA Tournament run.
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Chris Tillman
Christopher Steven Tillman (born April 15, 1988 in Anaheim, California) is a Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles. According to Baseball America, he was Baltimore's second best prospect, behind only Matt Wieters.
Tillman was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the second round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. On February 9, 2008, Tillman, along with Adam Jones, George Sherrill, Kam Mickolio, and Tony Butler, was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Érik Bédard.
On July 29, 2009, Tillman made his major league debut against the Kansas City Royals. He pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on three solo home runs. The Orioles ended up winning 7-3, leaving Tillman with a no decision.
On April 28, 2010, Tillman threw a no-hitter at the Gwinnett Braves as the Norfolk Tides won the game 6-0. This no-hitter was the first for the Tides since 1992.
On April 2, 2011, Tillman carried a no-hitter through six innings against the Tampa Bay Rays in the Orioles second game of the season. He was lifted by manager Buck Showalter after the sixth inning, however, as Tillman's pitch count was already up to 101 pitches. The team no-hitter was lost the following inning by Jeremy Accardo but the Orioles did go on to win 3-1. The Orioles did not score their runs until the 8th inning, giving Tillman a no-decision.
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Chuck Knoblauch
Edward Charles "Chuck" Knoblauch ( /ˈnɒblɔːk/; born July 7, 1968) is a retired Major League Baseball player. He played all or part of twelve seasons in the majors, from 1991 until 2002, for the Minnesota Twins (1991–97), New York Yankees (1998–2001) and Kansas City Royals (2002). He played mostly as a second baseman before moving to left field for his last two seasons.
Knoblauch was drafted in the 1st round of the 1986 amateur draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, but did not sign. He went on to play college baseball for Texas A&M University in College Station where he was a second team All-American. He played on the 1989 team that finished the season with 58 wins, the highest total in school history.
Knoblauch won the American League Rookie of the Year award and a World Series ring as a member of the 1991 Minnesota Twins. In Game 7 of the World Series, Knoblauch attempted to deceive Lonnie Smith by appearing to start a double play on a Terry Pendleton double (causing Smith to get only to 3rd base when he might have scored for the Atlanta Braves). Smith claimed that he lost track of the ball, and that Knoblauch's decoy with shortstop Greg Gagne had little to do with his base-running.
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Clark Griffith
Clark Calvin Griffith (November 20, 1869 – October 27, 1955), nicknamed "the Old Fox", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (1891), Boston Reds (1891), and Chicago Colts/Orphans (1893–1900). He then served as player-manager for the Chicago White Stockings (1901–1902) and New York Highlanders (1903–1907). He retired after the 1907 season, remaining manager of the Highlanders in 1908. He managed the Cincinnati Reds (1909–1911) and Washington Senators (1912–1920), making some appearances as a player with both teams. He owned the Senators from 1920 until his death in 1955.
Griffith was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.
Griffith entered the American Association in 1891, pitching 226 1⁄3 innings and winning 14 games for the St. Louis Browns and Boston Reds. He began the following season with the Chicago Colts, and in 1894 began a string of six consecutive seasons with 20 or more victories, compiling a 21–14 record and 4.92 ERA. Griffith lowered his ERA over the following years to a low of 1.88 in 1898, the lowest mark in the league.
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Clay Bellinger
Clayton Daniel Bellinger (born November 18, 1968 in Oneonta, New York) is a former Major League Baseball player. Bellinger attended Rollins College.
Bellinger played for the New York Yankees in 1999, 2000, and 2001, where he won two World Series rings. He played every position (including designated hitter) except for catcher and pitcher. Perhaps Bellinger's career high point came in the ninth inning of Game 2 of the 2000 World Series. Put in left field in place of David Justice, Bellinger's glove went over the wall to rob the Mets' Todd Zeile of a two run home run and preserve a crucial victory for the Yankees. The Yankees released him when he became eligible for arbitration; Bellinger then signed with the Anaheim Angels. He played two games at first base for the Anaheim Angels in 2002, had one at-bat in which he struck out, and was eventually demoted to the minor leagues.
While playing in the Baltimore Orioles system in 2004, he was recruited by owner Peter Angelos to play for the Greek baseball team in the 2004 Summer Olympics, held in Athens. Bellinger has Greek grandparents and Angelos was in charge of the Greek national baseball team. In order to field a competitive team in his hometown Olympics, Angelos made the controversial decision to use experienced American players mostly with distant Greek ancestry (players ancestry eligibility was allowed to date as far back as great-grandparents), as opposed to native Greeks due to their inexperience in a country where baseball was almost never played. Bellinger reluctantly agreed as he hoped it would earn him a September call-up to the Orioles roster when the Olympics were over. The Greek team went 1-6 and failed to advance to the medal round. Bellinger was clearly the most recognizable player from that team, one of a handful of players with Major League experience and the only player to have won a World Series ring. He was not promoted to the Orioles roster after the games concluded.
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Clay Rapada
Clayton Anthony Rapada (born March 9, 1981 in Portsmouth, Virginia) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees.
Rapada started in the Chicago Cubs organization pitching for the Single-A Boise Hawks from 2002–03. At the beginning of 2003, he was promoted to the Single-A Lansing Lugnuts, where he posted a 4.96 earned run average (ERA) and recorded 27 strikeouts over 45⅓ innings pitched, primarily in relief.
In 2004, Cubs coaches suggested that Rapada try a sidearm delivery. Rapada showed improvement that season for the Lugnuts, going 6–6 with an ERA of 2.33 in 57 appearances.
In 2005, the Cubs moved Rapada up to the Single-A Daytona Cubs, where he went 1–3 with an ERA 3.83 in 27 appearances. 2006 saw Rapada progressing through the Cubs minor league organization, and he pitched for both the Double-A West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx and the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. Between the two teams, he appeared in 61 games and posted an ERA of 1.59.
Rapada made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs on June 14, 2007, against the Seattle Mariners. He faced one batter, Raúl Ibáñez, who lined out to Cubs right fielder Cliff Floyd. Rapada was sent back to the Iowa Cubs on June 19, 2007, without making another appearance.
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Clyde King
Clyde Edward King (May 23, 1924 – November 2, 2010) was an American pitcher, coach, manager, general manager and front office executive in Major League Baseball. King, whose career in baseball spanned over 60 years, was perhaps best known for his longtime role as a special baseball advisor to George Steinbrenner, late owner of the New York Yankees. During his on-field career he managed the San Francisco Giants (1969–70), Atlanta Braves (1974–75) and Yankees (part of 1982), finishing with a career record of 234 wins and 229 defeats (.505).
King attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. A right-handed pitcher, he made his debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers at age 20 in 1944, his first professional season, during the manpower shortage caused by World War II. Although King would be sent to the minor leagues for seasoning after the war, he proved to be a solid member of the Brooklyn pitching staff (1944–45, 1947–48, 1951–52), winning 14 games for the 1951 Dodgers. When he finished his major league career with the Cincinnati Reds in 1953, King had appeared in an even 200 games, winning 32 and losing 25 with an earned run average of 4.60.
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Cody Eppley
Cody Allen Eppley (born October 8, 1985) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees.
Eppley attended Northern High School in Wellsville, Pennsylvania, where he pitched for the school's baseball team. He then enrolled at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where he played college baseball for the VCU Rams baseball team, competing in the Colonial Athletic Association of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I.
The Texas Rangers drafted Eppley in the 43rd round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.
He pitched for the Arizona Rangers of the Rookie-level Arizona League and Clinton Lumber Kings of the Class A Midwest League in 2008. He was named an Arizona League All-Star. Eppley played for the Hickory Crawdads of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2009. The Rangers promoted Eppley to the Bakersfield Blaze of the Class A-Advanced California League to begin the 2010 season, and then promoted him to the Frisco RoughRiders of the Class AA Texas League in May and Oklahoma City RedHawks of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL) in July. He was assigned to the Round Rock Express, the Rangers' new PCL affiliate, in 2011.
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Cole Hamels
Colbert Michael "Cole" Hamels (born December 27, 1983 in San Diego, California) is a left-handed starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. Hamels throws a four-seam fastball, a circle changeup, a curveball, and a cut fastball, which he added in 2010 in place of a sinker he occasionally threw. He was named Most Valuable Player of the 2008 World Series and National League Championship Series after posting a 4–0 record in the postseason.
Cole Hamels attended Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, California. Hamels performed well on the SAT, getting a 1510 (math + verbal, out of 1600).[citation needed][dubious – discuss] According to Tony Gwynn, a lot of scouts were interested in Hamels while he was pitching for RBHS because his fastball was clocked as high as 94 miles per hour (151 km/h), and because his secondary offerings were considered advanced. However, he broke his pitching arm in his sophomore year, so teams, including the San Diego Padres, lost interest.[citation needed]
Nonetheless, Hamels was drafted in the first round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, who held the 17th overall selection.
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Corban Joseph
Corban R. Joseph (born October 28, 1988) is a second baseman who is currently on the New York Yankees 40 man roster.
Joseph was drafted by the New York Yankees in the fourth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.
He was added to the Yankees 40 man roster on November 18, 2011.
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Cory Wade
Cory Nathaniel Wade (born May 28, 1983) is an American professional baseball relief pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball.
Wade attended Broad Ripple High School.
Wade played both pitcher and shortstop at Kentucky Wesleyan College, the only college that recruited him. As a junior in 2004, he was 5-4 with a 2.39 earned run average (ERA) in 12 games (10 starts) while striking out 84 batters in 71 2⁄3 innings.
Wade was selected in the 10th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers. With the Dodgers organization, he pitched for the Gulf Coast Dodgers, Ogden Raptors, Columbus Catfish, Vero Beach Dodgers, Inland Empire 66ers, and Jacksonville Suns. He was selected to play in the South Atlantic League All-Star game in 2006.
In 2007, Wade played in the Arizona Fall League, he was also added to the Dodgers 40-man roster.
Wade made his major league debut on April 24, 2008, for the Dodgers, working one inning in relief against the Arizona Diamondbacks. During his rookie season, Wade allowed 51 hits in 71 1⁄3 innings, and had a 2.27 ERA. By the 2008 postseason, Dodgers manager Joe Torre used Wade as his top setup pitcher, pitching Wade in the eighth inning.
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Craig Biggio
Craig Alan Biggio (born December 14, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman, catcher, and outfielder. He played his entire 20-year baseball career with the Houston Astros (1988–2007). He ranks 21st all-time with 3,060 career hits, and is the ninth player in the 3000 hit club to get all his hits with the same team. He is currently the head varsity baseball coach for St. Thomas High School in Houston, Texas.
Craig Biggio graduated from Kings Park High School on Long Island, New York, where he excelled as a multi-sport varsity athlete. Most notably, after the 1983 season, Biggio was awarded the Hansen Award, which recognized him as being the best football player in Suffolk County. However, Biggio's passion lay with baseball, such that he turned down football scholarships for the opportunity to play baseball for Seton Hall University.
An infielder in school, Biggio switched to catcher at Seton Hall University because his team needed one. Biggio was an All-American baseball player at Seton Hall, where he played with other future Major League Baseball stars Mo Vaughn and John Valentin. Biggio, Vaughn and Valentin, along with Marteese Robinson, were featured in the book The Hit Men and the Kid Who Batted Ninth by David Siroty which chronicled their rise from college teammates to the major leagues. Biggio was drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round (22nd overall) in 1987.
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Curt Blefary
Curtis Le Roy Blefary (July 5, 1943 – January 28, 2001) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played with the Baltimore Orioles (1965–68), Houston Astros (1969), New York Yankees (1970–71), Oakland Athletics (1971–1972) and San Diego Padres (1972). A native of Brooklyn, New York, he batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
In an eight-season career, Blefary was a .237 hitter with 112 home runs and 382 RBI in 974 games.
In his debut year of 1965, Blefary hit .260 with 22 home runs and 70 RBI, winning both the American League Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year awards. The following season, he was a member of the Orioles team that won the 1966 World Series.
Nicknamed "Clank" by Frank Robinson, in part for his below-average fielding abilities, Blefary started his career in the outfield, tried at first base, then switched to catcher, in an effort to keep his bat in the lineup. On April 27, 1968, he caught Tom Phoebus's no-hitter against the Red Sox. Blaming his constant defensive shuffling for his offensive decline, Blefary was sent to Houston in 1969 in the deal that brought Mike Cuellar to the Orioles.
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Curt Schilling
Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is a former American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in 1993 and won World Series championships in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in 2004 and 2007 with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling retired with a career postseason record of 11–2. His .846 postseason winning percentage is a major-league record among pitchers with at least 10 decisions.
After retiring, he founded Green Monster Games which was renamed 38 Studios. The company released Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning in February 2012, but just three months later, Schilling laid off his entire staff amid severe financial troubles that resulted in the company missing payroll the previous week.
Schilling graduated from Shadow Mountain High School in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1985, before attending Yavapai College in Prescott, Arizona.
Schilling began his professional career in the Red Sox farm system as a second-round pick in what would be the final January draft in MLB. He began his professional career with the Elmira Pioneers, a then Red Sox affiliate. After two and a half years in the minor leagues, he and Brady Anderson were traded to the Baltimore Orioles in 1988 for Mike Boddicker. His major league debut was with the Orioles (1988–1990), and he then spent one year with the Houston Astros (1991).
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Curtis Granderson
Curtis Granderson (born March 16, 1981) is an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player for the New York Yankees. Before joining the Yankees in 2010, he played for the Detroit Tigers (2004–2009). Granderson is a left-handed batter who throws right-handed. A center fielder, Granderson is known for being a five-tool player. He is a two-time MLB All-Star (2009 and 2011) and won the Silver Slugger Award in 2011.
Off the field, Granderson is recognized for his commitment to the community through outreach and charity work. Many of his charitable endeavors support inner city children. He has also served as an ambassador for MLB abroad. Granderson won the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award in 2009 for his on-field performance and contributions in the community.
Granderson grew up in Lynwood, Illinois, a city south of Chicago. His father, Curtis Sr., was a dean and physical education teacher at Nathan Hale Elementary and Middle School in Chicago. His mother, Mary, taught chemistry at Curie Metropolitan High School in Chicago. Granderson's half-sister, Monica, is an English professor at Jackson State University.
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Daisuke Matsuzaka
Daisuke Matsuzaka (松坂 大輔, Matsuzaka Daisuke?, born September 13, 1980) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball in the United States. He previously played for the Seibu Lions in Japan's Pacific League. He was selected the MVP of the inaugural and the second World Baseball Classic, and is an Olympic bronze medalist.
Matsuzaka was born on September 13, 1980, in Kanita, Aomori Prefecture. He was named after Japanese high school star pitcher Daisuke Araki. Growing up in Koto, Tokyo, he studied kendo from the age of five to nine and began playing organized baseball when he was in 3rd grade.
After excelling at the Little League and junior high level, Daisuke Matsuzaka was admitted into Yokohama High School, a baseball powerhouse, in the spring of 1996. By his second of three years, he had developed into the school's ace pitcher. Despite his early success, he would experience a setback that summer when he allowed a go-ahead wild pitch in the semi-final game of the Kanagawa Prefecture preliminary round of the National High School Baseball Championship (Summer Koshien).
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Dale Murphy
Dale Bryan Murphy (born March 12, 1956 in Portland, Oregon) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and first baseman. During an 18-year baseball career, 1976–1993, he played for three different teams, but is noted for his time with the Atlanta Braves. Murphy won consecutive National League Most Valuable Player Awards (1982–1983), the National League's Silver Slugger Award four straight years (1982–1985), and the National League's Gold Glove award five straight years (1982–1986).
In 1976 Murphy began his major league career with a nineteen game stint catching with the Atlanta Braves. He appeared in only eighteen games the following season. In 1978, Murphy played first base mostly. At the plate, he slumped to a .226 batting average, though he also showed hints of his future power by hitting 23 home runs.
Murphy switched to the outfield in 1980, a move that would help initiate a decade of highly productive play in the National League. Beginning in left field, he soon switched to center field, the position at which he would find his greatest success. By 1982, the most decorated year of Murphy's career, the former bench-riding catcher had transformed himself into an All-Star MVP outfielder who appeared in each of Atlanta's 162 games. His turnaround as a fielder was equally stark. In 1978, as a first baseman, Murphy had led all National League first-baggers in errors; in 1982, spending time at each of the three outfield positions, he won his first of five consecutive Gold Gloves.
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Dan Wheeler
Daniel Michael Wheeler (born December 10, 1977, in Providence, Rhode Island) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Cleveland Indians organization.
Wheeler attended the Pilgrim High School in Warwick, Rhode Island. He was drafted in the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft by the Devil Rays out of Central Arizona Junior College. In addition to the Rays, he has also played for the New York Mets, who traded him to the Houston Astros for minor leaguer Adam Seuss in 2004.
In 2005, Wheeler established himself as a top setup man for the Astros, going 2-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 71 games.
On October 19, 2005 during the National League Championship Series he recorded the last out at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, a fly ball which was caught by Astro Jason Lane in right field off the bat of Yadier Molina. He played on Team USA in the 2006 World Baseball Classic in the offseason.
On April 9, 2007, Wheeler became the Astros' closer, replacing Brad Lidge. However, Wheeler lost the closer job when Lidge overcame injury and returned to the team.
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Danny Graves
Daniel Peter Graves (born August 7, 1973 in Saigon, South Vietnam) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Born to an American serviceman father and a Vietnamese mother, he is the only Vietnam-born player in the history of the major leagues, and one of the few Vietnamese-American players. Graves pitched for most of his career for the Cincinnati Reds, where he was team's saves leader each year from 1999–2004, except for 2003 when he was a starting pitcher.
He played college baseball at the University of Miami.
Graves's family moved to the U.S. when he was fourteen months old. He graduated from Brandon High School in Brandon, Florida and was awarded a baseball scholarship to the University of Miami. As a right-handed relief pitcher for the school as a junior, he posted a 0.89 earned run average and led collegiate baseball with a school-record 21 saves.
Graves was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the fourth round of the 1994 Major League Baseball Draft. Two days after being drafted, he tore his ACL during the College World Series. After a year of rehabilitation, he was named Cleveland's top minor league pitcher of 1995, and was in the major leagues a year later. He was traded to the Cincinnati Reds in July 1997.
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Darrell Porter
Darrell Ray Porter (January 17, 1952 – August 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers. He was known for his excellent defensive skills and power hitting. He was also known for being one of the first American professional athletes to publicly admit he had a problem with substance abuse.
Born in Joplin, Missouri, Porter was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his debut on September 2, 1971 with the Brewers at age 19. He finished third in the 1973 Rookie of the Year voting. Porter was selected to the American League All-Star team in 1974, but had his best years after he was traded in 1976 to the Kansas City Royals, where he was selected to the All-Star team four times. In 1979, Porter became only the sixth catcher in Major League history to score 100 runs and have 100 runs batted in. The feat had previously been accomplished by Mickey Cochrane, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Johnny Bench and Carlton Fisk, all in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Only Porter and Cochrane had 100 walks, runs and RBI in a single season. He became a fan favorite for his intensity;[citation needed] teammate George Brett once said of Porter, "Darrell always played like it was the seventh game of the World Series."
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Darryl Strawberry
Darryl Eugene Strawberry (born March 12, 1962) is a former American Major League Baseball outfielder. Strawberry was well known for his play on the field and for his controversial behavior off it. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Strawberry was one of the most feared sluggers in the game, known for his prodigious home runs and his intimidating presence in the batter's box with his 6-foot-6 frame and his long, looping swing that elicited comparisons to Ted Williams.
During his 17-year career, he helped lead the New York Mets to a World Series championship in 1986 and the New York Yankees to three World Series championships in 1996, 1998 and 1999. A popular player during his career, Strawberry was voted to the All-Star Game eight straight times from 1984–1991. Strawberry was formerly an analyst for SportsNet New York. His memoir, "Straw: Finding My Way," written in collaboration with author John Strausbaugh, was published on April 28, 2009 by Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins publishers.
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Dave Concepción
David Ismael Concepción Benitez (born June 17, 1948), better known as Dave Concepción, is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball. He was born in Ocumare de la Costa, Aragua State, Venezuela. On August 25, 2007 the Cincinnati Reds retired jersey number 13 in honor of Concepción's contributions to the team.
Concepción was signed by the Cincinnati Reds as an amateur free agent in 1967. Following the steps of his childhood heroes Chico Carrasquel and Luis Aparicio, Jr., Concepción, originally drafted as a pitcher, came out of Venezuela to become one of Cincinnati baseball's more popular shortstops, making his debut on April 6, 1970. In his first three seasons, Reds manager Sparky Anderson played him part-time, sharing duties with Woody Woodward and Darrel Chaney.
In 1973 Concepción blossomed, both at bat and in the field, being named the starting shortstop. On May 9, in a Reds 9–7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, Johnny Bench hit three home runs and drove in seven runs against pitcher Steve Carlton. It was the second time that Bench smashed three homers against Carlton in a game. However, a Concepción two-run tie-breaker homer in the ninth, off Barry Lersch, was the game-winner. Concepción had been named to the NL All-Star team, but on July 22, two days before the game he broke his ankle (sliding into 3rd base after moving from first base with Dennis Menke base hit against the Expos in the bottom of the 7th inning at Riverfront, fracturing the fibula of left leg) and missed the second half of the year. At this time he was batting .287, with 8 HRs, 46 RBI, 39 runs, 18 doubles, three triples and 22 stolen bases.
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Dave Eiland
David William Eiland (born July 5, 1966) is a former American professional baseball player who was a pitcher for ten Major League Baseball seasons. Eiland played college baseball for the University of Florida and the University of South Florida, and thereafter, played professionally for the New York Yankees, San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He is currently the pitching coach of the Kansas City Royals.
Eiland was born in Dade City, Florida.
Eiland accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for the Florida Gators baseball team. He later transferred to the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida, and finished his collegiate career playing for the South Florida Bulls baseball team.
The New York Yankees selected him in the 7th round of the 1987 amateur draft and made his major league pitching debut with the Yankees in August, 1988. Used mainly in spot chances, Dave played in New York for 4 seasons, winning only 5 games. He was traded to the Padres in 1992 and did not win a game in 2 seasons despite starting in 9 games. Dave was sent back to the Yankees in 1995 and played for the expansion Devil Rays for 3 seasons before retiring in 2000. Dave played for 10 seasons, won 12, lost 27 with an ERA of 5.74.
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Dave Parker
David Gene "The Cobra" Parker (born June 9, 1951 in Calhoun, Mississippi) is an American former player in Major League Baseball. He was the 1978 National League MVP and a two-time batting champion. Parker was the first professional athlete to earn an average of one million dollars per year, having signed a 5-year, $5 million dollar contract in January 1979. Parker's career achievements include 2712 hits, 339 home runs, 1493 runs batted in and a lifetime batting average of .290. Parker was also known as a solid defensive outfielder during the first half of his career, with a powerful arm. From 1975 to 1979, he threw out 72 runners, including 26 in 1977.
He was a baseball All-Star in 1977, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, and 1990. In the 1979 All-Star Game, Parker showcased his defensive ability and powerful arm by throwing out Jim Rice at third base and Angels catcher Brian Downing at home. Parker also contributed an RBI on a sacrifice fly and was named the game's MVP.
In the early 1970s, as a member of the Pirates AAA minor league ball team Charleston (WV) Charlies, Parker hit a home run that landed on a coal car on a passing train and the ball was later picked up in Columbus Ohio. He began his major league career on July 12, 1973 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, for whom he played from 1973 to 1983. In 1977, he was National League batting champion, a feat he repeated in 1978 when he was named the National League's MVP. This was in spite of a collision at home plate with John Stearns during a game against the Mets on June 30, 1978 in which Parker fractured his jaw and cheekbone; he wore a facemask in order to minimize his time away from the lineup. The Pirates rewarded him with baseball's first million-dollar-per-year contract. The following year, he was an instrumental part of the Pirates' World Series championship team.
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Dave Righetti
David Allan Righetti (born November 28, 1958) is a former left-handed pitcher for various Major League Baseball teams, primarily the New York Yankees. He is currently the pitching coach for the San Francisco Giants and was the first player in history to both pitch a no-hitter and also lead the league in saves in his career. Dennis Eckersley later duplicated the feat. His nickname is "Rags."
Righetti attended Pioneer High School.
He was selected by the Texas Rangers on January 11, 1977, in the first round (10th overall pick) of the amateur draft. On November 10, 1978, he was traded, along with Greg Jemison, Juan Beníquez, Mike Griffin, and Paul Mirabella, to the New York Yankees for Domingo Ramos, Mike Heath, Sparky Lyle, Larry McCall, Dave Rajsich, and cash. His first major league game was with the Yankees on September 16, 1979, wearing uniform number 56. In this game against the Detroit Tigers he pitched 5.0 innings, striking out three and allowing 3 hits, 6 walks, and 3 earned runs. Righetti was almost traded to the Minnesota Twins in January 1979; the Twins and Yankees were unable to complete a deal in which Rod Carew would have moved to New York in exchange for Chris Chambliss, Juan Beniquez, Dámaso García, and Righetti. In 1980 he returned to the minor leagues, but rejoined the Yankees in 1981 wearing number 19, which he would keep until 1994.
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Dave Winfield
David Mark Winfield (born October 3, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is currently Executive Vice President/Senior Advisor of the San Diego Padres and an analyst for the ESPN program Baseball Tonight. Over his 22-year career, he played for six teams: the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, and Cleveland Indians. In 2004, ESPN named him the third-best all-around athlete of all time in any sport. He is a member of both the Baseball Hall of Fame and the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Winfield was born the same day Bobby Thomson hit his pennant-winning home run for the New York Giants, known as "the shot heard 'round the world", and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. His parents divorced when he was three years old, leaving him and his older brother Stephen to be raised by their mom, Arline, and a huge extended family of aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins and mentors.
The Winfield brothers honed their athletic skills in St. Paul's Oxford playground, where coach Bill Peterson was one of the first to take the young Winfield under his wing. It wasn't until his senior year in high school that Winfield became a formidable 6'6" athlete.
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Davey Johnson
David Allen Johnson (born January 30, 1943) is an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and current manager of the Washington Nationals. He was the starting second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles when they won four American League (AL) pennants and two World Series championships between 1965 and 1972. He made four All-Star Game appearances and received the Rawlings Gold Glove Award three times. He also played for the Atlanta Braves (1973–1975), Yomiuri Giants (1975–1976), Philadelphia Phillies (1977–1978) and Chicago Cubs (1978).
His biggest success as a manager was when he led the New York Mets to the 1986 World Series title. The ball club captured the National League (NL) East under his watch in 1988. The teams he piloted in the three years from 1995 to 1997 all made it to their respective League Championship Series – the Cincinnati Reds in 1995 and the Orioles in both 1996 and 1997. Johnson won the American League's Manager of the Year Award in 1997 when he led the Baltimore Orioles wire-to-wire to the American League East Division Championship. He would later manage the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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David Aardsma
David Allan Aardsma (pronounced /ˈɑrdzmə/; born December 27, 1981) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the first player alphabetically in the list of all-time MLB players, having displaced Hank Aaron upon his MLB debut.
Aardsma was born in Denver, Colorado, and attended Cherry Creek High School in Colorado, which was also the high school of Major Leaguers Josh Bard, John Burke, Brad Lidge, Darnell McDonald, and Donzell McDonald. He graduated from Cherry Creek High School in 2000.
He attended Penn State in his freshman year of college. He transferred to Rice University in 2001, where he remained for the rest of his college tenure. At Rice, Aardsma became a dominant closer, where he set school single-season and career saves records in 2002-2003. In the 2003 College World Series, Aardsma earned two wins and a save as the Owls won their first national championship.
In 2002, Aardsma was a Summer League First-Team All-American.
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David Cone
David Brian Cone (born January 2, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. During a 17-year baseball career, he pitched from 1986-2003 for six different teams. Cone pitched the sixteenth perfect game in baseball history. He also set the MLB record for most years between 20-win seasons. He was a member of five World Series championships (1992 with the Toronto Blue Jays and 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000 with the New York Yankees). He has a career 8–3 postseason record over 21 postseason starts and a postseason ERA of 3.80.
He is the subject of the book A Pitcher's Story: Innings With David Cone by Roger Angell. His fans are known as "Cone-Heads."
Cone lives in Stamford, Connecticut, and is a color commentator for the Yankees on the YES Network.
Cone was born in Kansas City, Missouri and attended Rockhurst High School, an all-boys Jesuit school. Cone played quarterback on the Rockhurst football team, leading them to the district championship. He also played point guard on the school's basketball team, but did not play baseball in high school because Rockhurst did not have a baseball program at the time. Cone played summer ball in the Ban Johnson League. At 16, he reported to an invitation-only tryout at Royals Stadium and an open tryout for the St. Louis Cardinals. Upon graduation, he was drafted by his hometown Kansas City Royals in the third round of the 1981 Major League Baseball Draft.
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David Eckstein
David Mark Eckstein (pronounced /ˈɛkʃtaɪn/; born January 20, 1975) is a former American professional baseball player who was an infielder in Major League Baseball for ten seasons. He played college baseball for the University of Florida, and has played professionally for the Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres. Eckstein was recognized as the most valuable player of the 2006 World Series.
Eckstein played baseball all four years at Seminole High School in Sanford, Florida. He was a two-time all-state selection, and a prominent member of a state championship team.
He was also a member of the National Honor Society and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Eckstein was voted "Most Helpful" in the Class of 1993.
Eckstein was commemorated on the 2006–2007 Seminole High baseball squad's T-shirt with the recognition at the bottom of the shirt as follows: "22.DE.WS.MVP.06." Eckstein's number with the St. Louis Cardinals was 22, DE are his initials, and he was the 2006 World Series MVP.
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David Freese
David Richard Freese (born April 28, 1983) is an American third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). For the Cardinals, Freese batted .545 with 12 hits in the 2011 National League Championship Series (NLCS), and set a MLB postseason record with 21 runs batted in (RBIs), earning the NLCS MVP Award, World Series MVP Award, and the Babe Ruth Award, naming him the MVP of the MLB postseason.
A star high school player, Freese declined a college baseball scholarship from the University of Missouri, a Division I National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) baseball program in the Big 12 Conference. Needing a break from baseball, he sat out his freshman year of college before feeling a renewed urge to play the game. He transferred to St. Louis Community College-Meramec, a junior college, where he played for one season before transferring to the University of South Alabama.
The San Diego Padres drafted Freese out of South Alabama in the ninth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. Before the 2008 season, the Cardinals acquired Freese for Jim Edmonds. He made his MLB debut on Opening Day 2009 due to an injury to incumbent third baseman Troy Glaus. Despite suffering injuries in his minor league career and first two MLB seasons, Freese emerged as the Cardinals' best hitter during their 2011 World Series championship season.
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David Justice
David Christopher Justice (born April 14, 1966) is an American former outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves (1989–1996), Cleveland Indians (1997–2000), New York Yankees (2000–2001), and Oakland Athletics (2002).
David was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Robert and Nettie Justice. His father left the family when Justice was two years old. Justice graduated from Covington Latin School in Covington, Kentucky at age 16 in 1982. He skipped the seventh and eighth grades. He then attended Thomas More College in Crestview Hills, Kentucky majoring in Criminal Justice.
Justice made his major league debut in May 1989, playing for the last-place Braves. The young right fielder earned the starting job after Braves fan favorite Dale Murphy was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. Justice promptly went on an offensive tear during the second half of the 1990 season, finishing with 28 home runs, which helped him claim the National League's Rookie of the Year Award. In 1991, the upstart Braves surged to the top of their division and Justice was leading the National League in runs batted in when he was sidelined by a nagging back injury in June. He finished with 87 runs batted in despite the injury and played in his first World Series.
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David Ortiz
David Américo Ortiz Arias (born November 18, 1975), nicknamed "Big Papi", is a Dominican-American professional baseball player with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Previously, Ortiz played with the Minnesota Twins from 1997 until 2002. Ortiz is a seven-time All-Star and holds the Red Sox single season record for home runs in a regular season with 54, set during the 2006 season. In 2005, Red Sox ownership presented him with a plaque proclaiming Ortiz "the greatest clutch-hitter in the history of the Boston Red Sox".
Ortiz graduated from Estudia Espallat High School in the Dominican Republic and in 1992 he was signed by the Seattle Mariners who listed him as "David Arias". He played for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, a Mariners farm team, until 1996, when he was traded to the Minnesota Twins as the player to be named later in an earlier trade for Dave Hollins. When he arrived in Minnesota, he informed the team that he preferred to be listed as "David Ortiz."
He made his Twins debut in September 1997. For a few years, he was moved back and forth between the Twins and their minor league affiliate in Connecticut, the New Britain Rock Cats. The Twins advanced to the American League Championship Series that year, where they lost to the Anaheim Angels. Despite showing flashes of talent, Ortiz's time with the Twins will be remembered as a series of injuries and inconsistency both in the field and at the plate. Ortiz suffered wrist injuries in both 1998 and 2001. He continued to experience knee problems in early 2002 that plagued him throughout the season, despite hitting 32 doubles, 20 home runs and 75 RBIs in 125 games. He was released by the Twins after the season. In six seasons with the Twins, Ortiz hit 58 home runs and 238 RBI.
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David Weathers
John David Weathers (born September 25, 1969 in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He bats and throws right-handed.
Weathers attended Motlow State Community College in Moore County, Tennessee and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 3rd round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft. Weathers made his major league debut with the Blue Jays on August 2, 1991, and was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 1992 Major League Baseball expansion draft.
Weathers played for the Marlins until 1996, when he was traded to the New York Yankees for Mark Hutton. Weathers won a World Series ring with the Yankees that year. On December 20, 1997, he was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds. On June 24, 1998, Weathers was claimed off waivers by the Milwaukee Brewers. Weathers stayed with Milwaukee until July 30, 2001, when he was traded to the Chicago Cubs, along with Robert Miniel, for Ruben Quevedo and Pete Zoccolillo. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the New York Mets. Weathers pitched for the Mets until June 17, 2004, when he and Jeremy Griffiths were traded to the Houston Astros for Richard Hidalgo. Weathers was released by the Astros on September 7, 2004, and signed with the Marlins the very next day.
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David Wells
David Lee Wells (born May 20, 1963), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Wells was considered to be one of the game's better left-handed pitchers, especially during his years with the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched the fifteenth perfect game in baseball history. He is tied only with Kenny Lofton for appearing in the post-season with six different teams. Wells is currently a broadcaster on MLB on TBS and the host of "The Cheap Seats" on FOXSports.com.
Wells was born in Torrance, California. He grew up in the San Diego neighborhood of Ocean Beach and attended local public schools. He graduated from Point Loma High School in 1982. He was a self-described "gym rat" who spent most of his time at the Ocean Beach Recreation Center and Robb Field. Baseball facilities at both Point Loma High School and Dana Middle School are named for him. He lives in San Diego with his wife and two sons. He has a tattoo of Babe Ruth.
Wells was a journeyman starter for the first eight seasons of his career. He debuted for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1987 as a reliever and did not secure a job as a full-time starter until he was 30 years old, despite pitching well most of the time and helping the Blue Jays win a World Series. He was released by the Blue Jays during spring training in 1993 and was signed by the Tigers almost immediately.
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Dean Smith
Dean Edwards Smith (born February 28, 1931) is a retired American head coach of men's college basketball. Originally from Emporia, Kansas, Smith has been called a “coaching legend” by the Basketball Hall of Fame. Smith is best known for his successful 36-year coaching tenure at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Smith coached from 1961 to 1997 and retired with 879 victories, which was the NCAA Division I men's basketball record at that time. Smith has the 9th highest winning percentage of any men’s college basketball coach (77.6%). During his tenure as head coach of North Carolina, the team won two national titles and appeared in 11 Final Fours.
Smith is also known for running a clean program and having a high graduation rate for his players, with 96.6% of his athletes receiving their degrees. While at North Carolina, Smith helped promote desegregation by recruiting the University’s first African American scholarship basketball player, Charlie Scott, and pushing for equal treatment for African Americans by local businesses. Smith coached and worked with numerous individuals at North Carolina who went on to achieve notable success in basketball, as either players or coaches or both. Smith retired as head coach from North Carolina in 1997, saying that he was not able to give the team the same level of enthusiasm that he had given it for years. Since retirement, Smith has used his influence to help out in various charitable ventures and political activities.
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Dellin Betances
Dellin Betances (born March 23, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees.
At the age of 10, Betances was a Yankee fan who sat with the Bleacher Creatures for the perfect game of former Yankees pitcher David Wells in 1998. He credits his family taking him to Yankee games with his choosing baseball over basketball.
He attended Grand Street Campus School in Brooklyn, New York. In 2005, Betances was an Aflac All-American and played for the Team USA Junior National Team. Betances played baseball in the summer in the Youth Service League.
Betances was drafted in the eighth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. He received a $1 million signing bonus to forego his commitment to Vanderbilt University.
Betances was rated the Yankees' third best prospect for 2007, and their fifth best for 2009, according to Baseball America.
Betances spent 2007 with the Class-A Short Season Staten Island Yankees and 2008 with the Class A Charleston RiverDogs. In 2009, he pitched for the Tampa Yankees, the Yankees Class A-Advanced affiliate. Betances had surgery late in the 2009 season, which was erroneously reported as Tommy John surgery, but was instead a ligament reinforcement procedure.
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Delmon Young
Delmon Damarcus Young (born September 14, 1985) is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball's American League. He is the younger brother of former major league outfielder and first baseman Dmitri Young. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama.
Young is known for having a strong and accurate throwing arm.Don Zimmer, now a consultant with the Rays, has compared Young's arm to that of Jesse Barfield or Raúl Mondesí. In terms of hitting ability, at 6'3", 205 pounds, he presents an intimidating and strong plate presence, and his potential has often been compared to that of Albert Belle.
Young graduated from Adolfo Camarillo High School in 2003, located in Camarillo, California, whereupon he was drafted first overall in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft.
In 2005, Young hit .336 with 20 home runs, 71 RBI and an OPS of .968 in 2005, in 84 games with the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits, winning the Southern League Most Valuable Player despite playing barely more than half the season. Young was promoted to the Triple-A Durham Bulls on July 15, 2005, where he batted .285 with six home runs and 28 RBIs in 52 games. After the season was over, he was named Baseball America's Minor League Player of the Year and its number one overall prospect for the 2006 season. Young finished his minor league career with a .318 batting average.
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Dennis Sherrill
Dennis Lee Sherrill is a former Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees. After being the Yankees' first round pick in the 1974 Major League Baseball Draft, he played just five games in the major leagues, two in 1978 and three in 1980. Despite playing just five games, Sherrill managed to play four different positions: designated hitter, shortstop, second base, and third base (twice).
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Denny Neagle
Dennis Edward Neagle Jr. ( /ˈneɪɡəl/; born September 13, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was last under contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays during the 2005 season, but he did not play due to injury. During the 1990s, he was one of the top pitchers in baseball, but his career, and personal life, deteriorated in the early 2000s.
Neagle attended Arundel Senior High School and played on the baseball team.
Neagle attended the University of Minnesota and played on the baseball team.
Neagle was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1989 amateur draft by the Minnesota Twins. He saw some action in the summer of 1991 for the Twins, but was not on their postseason roster when the club won the 1991 World Series.
Neagle was dealt to the Pittsburgh Pirates during spring training in 1992, and became a full-time starter for the Pirates in 1994. The following season, Neagle posted a 13-8 record with a 3.43 ERA and became the ace of a mediocre Pittsburgh staff. That year, Neagle represented the Pirates at the All-Star Game. He got off to an impressive 14–6 start in 1996. On August 27, 1996, he pitched eight innings giving up only two runs to the first place Atlanta Braves. The next day, the Braves traded a young Jason Schmidt to Pittsburgh for Neagle in the midst of their playoff run.
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Derek Jeter
Derek Sanderson Jeter ( /ˈdʒiːtər/; born June 26, 1974) is an American baseball shortstop who has played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. A five-time World Series champion, Jeter has been a central figure of the Yankees during their success of the 1990s and 2000s due to his clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning. He is the Yankees' all-time career leader in hits (3,155), games played (2,472), stolen bases (342), and at bats (10,066). His accolades include twelve All-Star selections, five Gold Glove Awards, four Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, and the Roberto Clemente Award. Jeter is the all-time MLB leader in hits by a shortstop, and the 28th player to reach 3,000 hits.
The Yankees drafted Jeter out of high school in 1992, and he debuted in the major leagues in 1995. The following year, he became the Yankees' starting shortstop, won the Rookie of the Year Award, and helped the team win the 1996 World Series. Jeter continued to contribute during the team's championship seasons of 1998–2000; he finished third in voting for the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1998, recorded multiple career-high numbers in 1999, and won both the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in 2000. He has consistently placed among the AL leaders in hits and runs scored for the past ten years, and since 2003 has served as the Yankees' team captain.
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Derrek Lee
Derrek Leon Lee (born September 6, 1975), or "D-Lee", is a Major League Baseball first baseman. Lee has played with the San Diego Padres (1997), the Florida Marlins (1998–2003), Chicago Cubs (2004–2010), Atlanta Braves (2010), Baltimore Orioles (2011) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2011) . He batted and threw right-handed.
Lee was a World Series Champion with Florida in 2003, and he won the National League batting title in 2005. He was a two-time All-Star selection, and won the Gold Glove Award three times.
Lee was born on September 6, 1975. Leon Lee is his father and Leron Lee is his uncle. Each of them played professional baseball in Japan. During his elementary years Lee lived in Japan, and during his high school years he often lived there during his summer breaks. Lee was born in Sacramento, California. Lee played Little League Baseball at Whitney Little League and graduated from El Camino High School in 1993.
Lee was drafted in the first round (14th overall) of the 1993 Major League Baseball Draft by the San Diego Padres, and made his major league debut on April 28, 1997.
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DeWayne Wise
Larry DeWayne Wise (born February 24, 1978, in Columbia, South Carolina) is an American professional baseball outfielder who currently plays for the New York Yankees. He graduated from Chapin High School in 1997 and was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the fifth round of the 1997 amateur draft.
Wise was claimed by the Toronto Blue Jays on December 13, 1999, in the Rule 5 Draft without having played a game for the Reds. He made his Major League debut for the Blue Jays on April 6, 2000. He struggled to make an impact at the big-league level, appearing in just 28 games in the 2000 season, batting a paltry .136 before being sent back to the minors.
After spending the entire 2001 season in the Toronto minor league system, Wise was recalled to the Majors in 2002. He appeared in 42 games and hit his first home run during this time, before being demoted largely due to his .179 batting average. He became a free agent after the 2003 season, which he spent entirely in Syracuse, the Blue Jays' AAA affiliate.
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Dick Green
Richard Larry Green (born on April 21, 1941 in Sioux City, Iowa), is a former Major League Baseball player.
He was raised in Rapid City, S.D., where his ability as a baseball player was first noted.
Green, a right-handed player who also batted right, was a second baseman with the Kansas City Athletics from 1963 to 1967 and with the Oakland Athletics from 1968 to 1974.
Green did not attend college, and was signed by the Kansas City Athletics before the 1960 season as an amateur free agent. Green spent a few seasons in the minor leagues before being called up on September 9, 1963. Green played minimally in 13 games, but did pick up 10 hits, including his first major league home run.
In 1964, his first full year in Major League Baseball, Green played 130 games, with 115 hits, 11 of them being home runs and posted a .264 batting average. He also committed just six errors at second base and finished the season with a .990 fielding percentage. The following season, Green finished with a batting average of .232 and 110 hits in 133 games.
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Dick Groat
Richard Morrow Groat (born November 4, 1930 in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania) is a former two-sport athlete best known as a shortstop in Major League Baseball. He played for four National League teams, mainly the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player in 1960 after winning the batting title with a .325 average for the champion Pirates. From 1956 to 1962 he teamed with second baseman Bill Mazeroski to give Pittsburgh one of the game's strongest middle infields; he led the NL in double plays a record five times, in putouts four times and in assists twice. At the end of his career he ranked ninth in major league history in games at shortstop (1,877) and fourth in double plays (1,237), and was among the NL career leaders in putouts (10th, 3,505), assists (8th, 5,811) and total chances (9th, 9,690). Also an excellent basketball player, he attended Duke University and is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He was twice an All-American at Duke and was voted as the Helms National Player of the Year in 1952 after averaging 25.2 points per game. He played one season as a guard in the National Basketball Association. In 2011 Groat was inducted into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, becoming the first man ever inducted into both the college basketball and college baseball halls of fame. He is currently the color commentator for the Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team.
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Don Baylor
Donald Edward Baylor (born June 28, 1949) is a Major League Baseball coach currently the hitting coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and a former player and manager. During his 19-year playing career, he was a power hitter who played as a first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter. He played for six different American League teams, primarily the Baltimore Orioles and California Angels. He later managed the expansion Colorado Rockies for six years and the Chicago Cubs for three.
Born in Austin, Texas, Baylor graduated from Austin High School. He starred in both baseball and football at Austin High, and was offered a scholarship to play football at Texas by legendary Longhorns coach Darrell Royal, which would have made him the first African American to play football at Texas. He opted to pursue a baseball career, enrolling at Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas.
He was drafted in the second round of the 1967 amateur draft by Baltimore. He played for the Orioles from 1970-1975. Before the 1976 season, the Orioles traded Baylor with Paul Mitchell and Mike Torrez to the Oakland Athletics for Reggie Jackson, Ken Holtzman, and Bill VanBommell. He signed with the California Angels as a free agent in 1977, with the New York Yankees in 1983 and the Boston Red Sox in 1986. In 1987, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins for a player to be named later. He signed with the Athletics for 1988, his final season as a player.
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Don Kessinger
Donald Eulon Kessinger (born July 17, 1942 in Forrest City, Arkansas) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from 1964 to 1979 for the Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox. A six-time All-Star, he was a light-hitting, defensive specialist who spent the majority of his career as the Chicago Cubs starting shortstop. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he was considered one of the best shortstops in baseball.
A four sport All-State and All-America athlete for the Forrest City High School "Mustangs," Kessinger graduated high school in 1960 and went onto the University of Mississippi. During his collegiate years, he earned All-Conference, All-SEC, and All-America honors in both basketball and baseball for the Rebels, and was initiated into the Sigma Nu fraternity. Kessinger also played for the Peoria Pacers, of the Central Illinois Collegiate League (a summer league for collegiate players) in its founding year, 1963. He was signed by the Chicago Cubs as an amateur free agent on June 19, 1964. Kessinger was assigned to play for the Double-A Fort Worth Cats before making his major league debut on September 7, 1964.
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Don Larsen
Donald James Larsen (born August 7, 1929) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. During a 15-year MLB career, he pitched from 1953-1967 for seven different teams. Larsen pitched for the St. Louis Browns / Baltimore Orioles (1953–1954; 1965), New York Yankees (1955–1959), Kansas City Athletics (1960–1961), Chicago White Sox (1961), San Francisco Giants (1962–1964), Houston Colt .45's / Houston Astros (1964–1965), and Chicago Cubs (1967).
Larsen pitched the sixth perfect game in MLB history, doing so in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series. It is the only perfect game in MLB postseason and World Series history and is one of only two no hitters in MLB postseason history. He won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award and Babe Ruth Award in recognition of his 1956 postseason.
Larsen was born in Michigan City, Indiana. Larsen's family moved to San Diego, California in 1944, where his mother became an housekeeper and his father worked as a department store salesman.
Larsen attended Point Loma High School where he was an member of the basketball and baseball team. He was selected for the All-Metro Conference team as a basketball player, and was offered several college scholarships to play basketball.
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Don Mattingly
Donald Arthur "Don" Mattingly (born April 20, 1961) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and current manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Nicknamed "The Hit Man" and "Donnie Baseball", he played his entire 14-year major league baseball career for the New York Yankees (1982–1995).
Mattingly was named to the American League (AL) All-Star team six times. He won nine Gold Glove Awards, three Silver Slugger Awards, and was the 1985 AL Most Valuable Player. Mattingly served as captain of the Yankees from 1991 through 1995, and the Yankees retired his uniform number after his retirement. After his playing career, Mattingly served as a hitting coach for the Yankees and Dodgers prior to taking on his current position as manager of the Dodgers.
A graduate of Memorial High School in Evansville, Indiana in 1979, he led the Tigers to a state record 59 straight victories through the 1978-79 season. In 1978 the Tigers were crowned State Champions and were State Runners-up in 1979. Don was the L.V. Phillips Mental Attitude recipient in 1979. He was All-City, All-SIAC (Southern Indiana Athletic Conference), and All State in both 1978 and 1979. During the four years he played in high school the Tigers compiled a 94-9-1 won – loss record and Don hit .463. He still holds Memorial records for hits (152); doubles (29): triples (25 - also the state record); RBIs (140); and runs scored (99).
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Don Schwall
Donald Bernard Schwall (born March 2, 1936 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played with the Boston Red Sox (1961–62), Pittsburgh Pirates (1963–66) and Atlanta Braves (1966–67).
Schwall was selected an All-Big Eight basketball star at the University of Oklahoma in 1957. A year later, he signed with the Red Sox.
In 1961, Schwall posted a 15-7 record with 91 strikeouts and a 3.22 earned run average, for a Boston team that finished 33 games out of first place and ten games under .500. He won his first six decisions, extended the dazzling first-year stats to 13-2, and won Rookie of the Year honors, beating out Hall of Fame-bound teammate Carl Yastrzemski. At Fenway Park, on July 31, he pitched three innings in the first All-Star Game tie in major league baseball history (1-1), occurred when the game was stopped in the 9th inning due to rain.
After a sub-par 1962 season (9-15), Schwall was sent to Pittsburgh. He and catcher Jim Pagliaroni were traded to the Pirates for first baseman Dick Stuart and pitcher Jack Lamabe. He went 6-12 in 1963, and later switched to a reliever, recording a career-best 2.92 ERA while winning nine games in 1965. The Pirates traded him to the Braves on June 15, 1966 for left-handed pitcher Billy O'Dell. Schwall finished his career with Atlanta early in the next season.
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Don Shula
Donald Francis "Don" Shula (born January 4, 1930) is a former American football cornerback and coach.
He is best known as coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the National Football League's only perfect season. Shula was named 1993 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated. He currently holds the NFL record for most career wins with 347. Shula only had two losing seasons in his 36-year career of coaching in the NFL. He has been head coach for a record six Super Bowls. In his first, he set the record for the longest period to be shut out (not scoring until 3:19 remaining). His next Super Bowl he set the record for the lowest points by any team (with only one field goal). The very next year he turned that all around during his perfect season, breaking his record of longest period with a shut out, this time with him on the winning side (not giving up any points until 2:07 remaining). As of 2012, Shula's perfect NFL season remains unmatched, and his three Super Bowl records and total NFL wins remain unbroken.
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Don Sutton
Donald Howard Sutton (born April 2, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher and current radio sportscaster. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.
Sutton was born in Clio, Alabama, a small town in Barbour County, and on the same date as future Dodger teammate Reggie Smith. He was born to sharecroppers at the end of World War II, in a tar-paper shack. At the time Sutton was born his father was 18 and his mother was 15. Sutton's father, Howard, gave him the strong work ethic that he had throughout his career. His father tried logging and construction work, and in looking for work, moved the family to Molino, Florida, just north of Pensacola.
Sutton attended J. M. Tate High School in Cantonment/Gonzalez, Florida where he played baseball, basketball, and football. He led his baseball team to the small-school state finals two years in row, winning his junior year, 1962, and losing 2–1 in his senior year, and was named all-county, all-conference, and all-state for both of those seasons. He graduated in 1963, and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed". He wanted to attend the University of Florida, but then coach Dave Fuller was not interested. Instead he attended Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Florida for one year, and then after a good summer league, was signed by the Dodgers.
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Don Zimmer
Donald William Zimmer (born January 17, 1931, in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a former infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB), currently serving as a senior advisor to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball organization. Zimmer has been involved in professional baseball since 1949.
Zimmer signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1949. He played in MLB with the Dodgers (1954–1959, 1963), Chicago Cubs (1960–1961), New York Mets (1962), Cincinnati Reds (1962), and Washington Senators (1963–1965). He also played for the Toei Flyers of Nippon Professional Baseball in 1966.
Following his retirement as a player, Zimmer began his coaching career. He worked in minor league baseball, before coaching the Montreal Expos (1971), San Diego Padres (1972), Boston Red Sox (1974–1976, 1992) New York Yankees (1983, 1986, 1996–2003), Cubs (1984–1986), San Francisco Giants (1987), Colorado Rockies (1993–1995), and Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays (2004–present). He served as manager for the Padres (1972–1973), Red Sox (1976–1980), Texas Rangers (1981–1982), and Cubs (1988–1991).
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Donn Clendenon
Donn Alvin Clendenon (July 15, 1935 – September 17, 2005) was a Major League Baseball first baseman. He is best remembered as the World Series MVP for the 1969 Amazin' Mets.
Six months after Clendenon was born in Neosho, Missouri, his father, Claude, died from leukemia. Claude Clendenon was a mathematics and psychology professor and chairman of the mathematics department at Langston University, an all-black school in Langston, Oklahoma. Clendenon's mother, Helen, demanded high academic achievement from her son. When he was only six years old, Clendenon's mother married former Negro Leagues baseball player Nish Williams. In addition to academic excellence, Clendenon's new stepfather decided he was going to make his stepson into a baseball player. Williams served as a coach on virtually every baseball team that Clendenon played on, including his college team at Atlanta's Morehouse College, and his semi-pro career with the Atlanta Black Crackers. Along with Williams, Clendenon also received pointers from some of the players Williams knew from the Negro Leagues, including Jackie Robinson, Satchel Paige, Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe.
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Dontrelle Willis
Dontrelle Wayne Willis (born January 12, 1982), nicknamed "The D-Train", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles organization. Willis is notable for his success during his first few years in the league and for his unconventional pitching style, which includes a high leg kick and exaggerated twisting away from the batter. Willis was named the 2003 National League Rookie of the Year.
Growing up in Alameda near Oakland, Willis rooted for the Oakland A's as a kid. His mother Joyce was a soft ball catcher for her high school team. Willis' favorite player was former Oakland A's pitcher, Dave Stewart. Willis attended Encinal High School in Alameda, California, where he played baseball for four years. He is the son of Clinton Ostah, a former minor league player in the 1970s. In Willis' senior year, he went 12–1 with a 0.83 earned run average in 70 innings. Scouts never doubted his talents, but rather his unusual pitching mechanics. One scout even called him a "Poor man's CC Sabathia." He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 8th round of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft. In 2001, Willis was bumped up to the Boise Hawks of the Northwest League. He finished with 8 wins and a 2.98 ERA. Opposing hitters only batted .217 against Willis. In a Baseball America poll, several NWL managers called Willis Boise's best player.[citation needed]
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Drew Brees
Andrew Christopher "Drew" Brees (pronounced /ˈbriːs/; born January 15, 1979) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue.
Brees has been selected to the Pro Bowl six times in his career – with the Chargers in 2004 and the Saints in 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. He was named the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year in 2004, the Offensive Player of the Year in 2008, and the MVP of Super Bowl XLIV. He was also selected by voters to appear on the cover of EA Sports' Madden NFL 11.Sports Illustrated named him as its 2010 Sportsman of the Year.
Brees holds the single-season record for most passing yards in a single season, with 5,476 yards passing during the 2011 season.
Brees was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of Mina (née Akins), an attorney, and Eugene Wilson Brees II, a medical malpractice attorney. He was named after Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson. His uncle, Marty Akins, was an All-American starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns college football team from 1975 to 1977. Chip Brees played basketball for the Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team, and his grandfather, Ray Akins, had the third-most victories as a Texas high school football coach.
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Dustin Pedroia
Dustin Luis Pedroia (born August 17, 1983, in Woodland, California) is an American professional baseball second baseman. Pedroia has won several awards in Major League Baseball, including the 2007 American League Rookie of the Year and the 2008 AL MVP award. He also won a Silver Slugger as a second baseman and a Gold Glove in 2008 and 2011. He finished second overall in the AL in batting average in 2008. In addition to his offensive performance, Pedroia has been a major defensive contributor to the Red Sox.
Pedroia is listed by Major League Baseball and the Red Sox as 5' 8" (173 cm) and 165 pounds. In 2003 a USA Today article gave his height as 5' 7" (170 cm), and when he was in college the NCAA and Arizona State University gave his height as 5' 8".
Pedroia attended Woodland Senior High School in Woodland, California. Pedroia batted .445 his senior year and was chosen as his league's most valuable player. Good childhood friend and high school teamate Frankie Vartuli gave him some inspirational words before he started his college season. What was said on the rainy Thursday night during the phone conversation was, "In order to excel, you must be completely dedicated to your chosen sport. You must also be prepared to work hard and be willing to accept constructive criticism. Without one-hundred percent dedication, you won't be able to do this." Vartuli used the famous quote from Willie Mays to inspire the 5 foot 7 phenom to excel in college.
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Dwight Gooden
Dwight Eugene Gooden (born November 16, 1964), nicknamed "Doc Gooden" or "Dr. K", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was one of the most dominant and feared pitchers in the National League in the middle and late 1980s.
A native of Tampa, Florida, Dwight Gooden was drafted in the first round in 1982, the fifth player taken overall. He spent one season in the minors, in which he led the Class-A Carolina League in wins, strikeouts and ERA while playing for the Lynchburg Mets. Gooden had 300 strikeouts in 191 innings, a performance which convinced Triple-A Tidewater Tides manager, future Mets skipper Davey Johnson, that he was capable of making the unusual leap to the major league.
Gooden made his major-league debut on April 7, 1984 with the New York Mets at the age of 19. He quickly developed a reputation with his 98 MPH fastball and sweeping curveball, which was given the superlative nickname of "Lord Charles," in contrast with "Uncle Charlie," a common nickname for a curveball. He was dubbed "Dr. K," (by analogy with basketball's "Dr. J", Julius Erving, and also in reference to the letter "K" being the standard abbreviation for strikeout), which soon became shortened to "Doc". Gooden soon attracted a rooting section at Shea Stadium that called itself "The K Korner," and would hang up cards with a red "K" after each of his strikeouts.
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Dwyane Wade
Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. (born January 17, 1982), nicknamed Flash or D-Wade, is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat. Awarded 2006 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated, Wade has established himself as one of the most well-known and popular players in the league. He had the top selling jersey in the NBA for nearly two years, as he led the NBA in jersey sales from the 2005 NBA Playoffs, until the mid-point of the 2006–07 season.
After entering the league as the fifth pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, Wade was named to the All-Rookie team and the All-Star team the following eight seasons. In his third season, Wade helped lead the Miami Heat to their first NBA Championship in franchise history. He was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP as he helped lead the Heat to a 4–2 series win over the Dallas Mavericks. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, Wade led the United States Men's Basketball team, commonly known as the "Redeem Team", in scoring, as they captured gold medal honors in Beijing, China. In the 2008–09 season, Wade led the league in scoring and earned his first NBA scoring title.
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Dámaso Marté
Dámaso Marté Sabinon (born February 14, 1975) is a Dominican Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently a free agent. He previously played for the Seattle Mariners (1999), Pittsburgh Pirates (2001, 2006–2008), Chicago White Sox (2002–2005), and New York Yankees (2008–2011).
Marté was signed as an amateur free agent by the Seattle Mariners in 1992. He made his major league debut on June 30, 1999, against the Oakland Athletics.
On November 16, 2000, Marté signed with the New York Yankees, but was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 13, 2001, for Enrique Wilson. In his Pirates debut, he hurled 3 innings of one-hit ball. He went on to throw 14 innings in which he only allowed 1 run and struck out a career-high 5 batters against the Cincinnati Reds.
On March 27, 2002, Marté along with Edwin Yan were traded to the Chicago White Sox for Matt Guerrier. In 2003, he enjoyed his most successful big league season, where he went 4–2 with a 1.58 ERA in 79.7 innings pitched where he struck out a career high 87 batters. He continued his success in 2004 when he held opposing batters to a .217 batting average and left-handed batters to an average of .143. He also matched his career high for strikeouts in a game with 5 against the Florida Marlins.
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Ed Bradley
Edward Rudolph "Ed" Bradley, Jr. (June 22, 1941 – November 9, 2006) was an American journalist, best known for twenty-six years of award-winning work on the CBS News television program 60 Minutes. During his earlier career he also covered the fall of Saigon, was the first black television correspondent to cover the White House, and anchored his own news broadcast, CBS Sunday Night with Ed Bradley. He received several awards for his work including the Peabody, the National Association of Black Journalists Lifetime Achievement Award, and nineteen Emmy Awards.
Bradley was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents divorced when he was two, after which he was raised by his mother Gladys, who worked two jobs to make ends meet. Bradley, who was referred to with the childhood name of "Butch Bradley" was able to see his father, who was in the vending machine business and owned a restaurant in Detroit, in the summertime. When he was 9, his mother enrolled him in the Holy Providence School, an all-black Catholic boarding school run by the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament at Cornwells Heights, Pennsylvania. He attended Mount Saint Charles Academy, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and then another historically black school, Cheyney State College (now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania) in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1964 with a degree in Education. His first job was teaching sixth grade at the William B. Mann Elementary School in Philadelphia's Wynnefield community. While he was teaching, he moonlighted at the old WDAS studios on Edgley Drive in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, working for free and later, for minimum wage. He programmed music, read news, and covered basketball games and other sports.
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Ed Brinkman
Edwin Albert Brinkman (December 8, 1941 – September 30, 2008) was a Major League Baseball shortstop. He played fifteen years in the Major League Baseball, led the American League in games played twice, won a Gold Glove Award at shortstop, and had a career batting average of .224. He was also named to the American League All-Star team in 1973.
Brinkman was a high school teammate of Pete Rose at Cincinnati's Western Hills High School. Paul "Pappy" Nohr, the baseball coach at Western Hills, described Rose as "a good ball player, not a Brinkman." (David M. Jordan, "Pete Rose: A Biography," p. 6)[1] Based on their performance in high school, scouts saw Brinkman rather than Rose as the future superstar. When he was a senior, Ed batted .460 and also won 15 games as a pitcher. Brinkman was paid a large (for the time) bonus of $75,000 by the Washington Senators in 1959. Brinkman later said: "Pete always kidded me that the Washington Senators brought me my bonus in an armored truck. Pete said he had cashed his at the corner store." (David M. Jordan, "Pete Rose: A Biography," p. 7)[2]
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Eddie Collins
Edward Trowbridge Collins, Sr. (May 2, 1887 – March 25, 1951), nicknamed "Cocky", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman, manager and executive. He played from 1906 to 1930 for the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox.
At the end of his career, he ranked second in major league history in career games (2,826), walks (1,499) and stolen bases (744), third in runs scored (1,821), fourth in hits (3,315) and at bats (9,949), sixth in on base percentage (.424), and eighth in total bases (4,268); he was also fourth in AL history in triples (187). He still holds the major league record of 512 career sacrifice bunts, over 100 more than any other player. He was the first major leaguer in modern history to steal 80 bases in a season, and still shares the major league record of six steals in a game, which he accomplished twice in September 1912. He regularly batted over .320, retiring with a career average of .333. He also holds major league records for career games (2,650), assists (7,630) and total chances (14,591) at second base, and ranks second in putouts (6,526). Collins is one of only 29 players in baseball history to have appeared in Major League games in four decades.
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Eddie Murray
Eddie Clarence Murray (born February 24, 1956), nicknamed "Steady Eddie", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and designated hitter. He was known as one of the most reliable and productive hitters of his era. Murray is regarded as one of the best switch hitters ever to play the game. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.
Murray was the eighth child of twelve and still has 5 sisters and 4 brothers, and has often quipped that as a child, he did not have to go far for a pick-up baseball game. The games were quite fierce and his older brothers never let him win. He carried that competitive edge to each of his next levels of baseball. At his Hall of Fame induction, Murray thanked his little league coach, Clifford Prelow, for teaching him not just the game of baseball but also love for the game as well. Prelow, an ex-Dodger minor leaguer, also worked his boys hard; making them run out every ground ball and threatening them with 100 yard wind sprints if they did not work. Prelow remembers that young Murray never earned that punishment. Later, Murray attended Locke High School in Los Angeles, California, where he batted .500 as a senior and was a teammate of Ozzie Smith.
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Edgar Martínez
Edgar Martínez (born January 2, 1963 in New York City), nicknamed "Gar" and "Papi", is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and designated hitter. He spent his entire 18-year Major League career with the Seattle Mariners. He is the cousin of Carmelo Martínez.
On December 19, 1982, the Seattle Mariners signed Martínez to a minor league contract. Martínez worked his way through the Mariners minor league system, making stops with the Chattanooga Lookouts and the Calgary Cannons. Martínez made his major league debut on September 12, 1987, and became a fixture in the Mariners' lineup in 1990, replacing Jim Presley at third base. He began his career as a third baseman and won an American League batting title in 1992, but then he tore his hamstring during an exhibition game at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, B.C. on an unzipped seam in the turf between first and second, just before the 1993 season, and never fully recovered.
Martínez became a full-time designated hitter in 1995, after missing the 1994 season to injury. To date, he is the only designated hitter ever to have won a batting title, winning it in 1995 with a .356 average.
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Edgar Rentería
Edgar Enrique Rentería Herazo (Spanish pronunciation: [renteˈɾi.a]; born August 7, 1975), nicknamed "The Barranquilla Baby," is a Colombian former professional baseball shortstop. He threw and batted right-handed. He played for the Florida Marlins, the St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Red Sox, the Atlanta Braves, the Detroit Tigers, San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds.
Born in Barranquilla, Colombia, Rentería was signed by the Florida Marlins in 1992. He debuted with them in 1996, and he finished second to Todd Hollandsworth in Rookie of the Year Award balloting. In 1997, his RBI single off of Charles Nagy in the eleventh inning of Game 7 of the 1997 World Series won the first World Series in Marlins' history. He was selected to his first All-Star Game in 1998, and he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals following the season. He was the starting shortstop for the Cardinals for six years, and he was selected to the All-Star Game in 2000, 2003, and 2004. In 2002 and 2003 he won the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards. Following the 2004 season, he signed with the Boston Red Sox. After a year with them, he was traded to the Atlanta Braves. He was selected to another All-Star Game in 2006, but following the 2007 season he was traded to the Detroit Tigers. After 2008, he became a free agent, and he signed with the San Francisco Giants. In the 2010 World Series, Rentería won the World Series Most Valuable Player Award after he hit game-winning home runs in Game 2 and Game 5, the final game. He became a free agent again after the season, and he signed with the Cincinnati Reds.
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Eduardo Núñez
Eduardo Michelle Núñez Mendez (born June 15, 1987) is a professional baseball infielder. He plays for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). A natural shortstop, the Yankees have used Núñez as a utility infielder, and have played him in the outfield as well.
The Yankees signed Núñez as an international free agent in 2004. He played minor league baseball in their organization from 2005 through 2010, until he made his MLB debut with the Yankees on August 19, 2010. He has served to allow Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez the ability to take days off in the field.
The New York Yankees signed Núñez as an international free agent in February 2004. The organization introduced him to Derek Jeter, his childhood idol, at a press conference, where they told Jeter that Núñez is their eventual replacement for Jeter as the Yankees' starting shortstop.
Núñez made his professional debut in minor league baseball with the Staten Island Yankees of the Class A Short Season New York-Pennsylvania League in the 2005 season. Nunez represented the Yankees in the league's All-Star Game. That season, the Yankees won their third consecutive league championship, and Nunez was rated as the fourth-best prospect in the New York-Penn League. Going into the 2006 season, Baseball America ranked Núñez the sixth-best prospect in the Yankees organization, and the prospect with the best throwing arm. The Yankees started Núñez with the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League in 2006; he struggled with Tampa, and the Yankees demoted him to the Charleston RiverDogs of the Class A South Atlantic League (SAL) on May 17. Overall, Núñez had a .214 batting average for Tampa and Charleston.
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Edwin Moses
Edwin Corley Moses (born August 31, 1955) is a former American track and field athlete, who won gold medals in the 400 m hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Between 1977 and 1987, Moses won 107 consecutive finals (122 consecutive races) and set the world record in his event four times. In addition to his running, Moses was also an innovative reformer in the areas of Olympic eligibility and drug testing. In 2000, he was elected the first Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, an international service organization of world-class athletes.
Moses was born in Dayton, Ohio. Having accepted an academic scholarship to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, he majored in physics and industrial engineering, while competing for the school track team. Morehouse did not have its own track, so he used public high school facilities around the city to train. Initially, Moses competed mostly in the 120-yard hurdles and 440-yard dash. Before March 1976, he ran only one 400 m hurdles race, but once he began focusing on the event he made remarkable progress. His trademark technique was to take a constant 13 steps between each of the hurdles, pulling away in the second half of the race as his rivals changed their stride pattern. That summer, he qualified for the US team for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. In his first international meet, Moses won the gold medal and set a world record of 47.63 seconds.
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Elston Howard
Elston Gene Howard (February 23, 1929 – December 14, 1980) was an American Negro League and Major League Baseball catcher, left fielder and coach. During a 14-year baseball career, he played from 1955–1968, primarily for the New York Yankees. The first African American player on the Yankees roster, he was named the American League's Most Valuable Player for the 1963 pennant winners after finishing third in the league in slugging average and fifth in home runs, becoming the first black player in AL history to win the honor. He won Gold Glove Awards in 1963 and 1964, in the latter season setting AL records for putouts and total chances in a season. His lifetime fielding percentage of .993 was a major league record from 1967 to 1973, and he retired among the AL career leaders in putouts (7th, 6,447) and total chances (9th, 6,977). One of the most regular World Series participants in history, he appeared in ten of them, winning six, and ranks among Series career leaders in several categories. His lifetime slugging average of .427 ranked fourth among AL catchers at the time of his retirement.
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Eric Chavez
Eric Cesar Chavez (born on December 7, 1977) is an American Major League Baseball infielder for the New York Yankees. Chavez has previously played for the Oakland Athletics (1998–2010). Chavez has won six Rawlings Gold Glove Awards (2001–2006).
Chavez's high school success was such that in the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft, he was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the first round as the tenth pick. Chavez eventually chose a professional baseball career over a full scholarship at the University of Southern California (USC), signing with the Athletics on August 27, 1996. His time in the minor leagues was relatively short, lasting just under two seasons. He spent the 1997 season playing for the Visalia Oaks, the Single-A team in the Athletics' farm system. He played 134 games, all at third base, and hit .271 with 18 home runs and 100 RBI. Before the start of the 1998 season, Chavez was promoted to the Double-A Huntsville Stars. After 88 games, he had a batting average of .328, 28 home runs, 86 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and a triple. His efforts caused him to be promoted to the Edmonton Trappers, where in 47 games he hit 11 home runs and had a .325 batting average. When Edmonton's season finished up on September 8, 1998, he was called up to the major leagues. He finished his minor league career by being named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America, as well as earning the J.G. Taylor Spink Award as the Topps/NAPBL Minor League Player of the Year.
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Eric Duncan
Eric Anthony Duncan (born December 7, 1984, in Florham Park, New Jersey) is an American baseball player who is currently in the Kansas City Royals organization.
Duncan attended Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange, New Jersey, which is also the alma mater of the Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Rick Porcello.
Duncan was selected by the Yankees in the first round (27th overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft. Prior to the 2005 season, Baseball America named Duncan the Yankees 2005 top prospect, and the 36th best prospect in baseball. Prior to the 2006 season, Baseball America ranked him the 86th best prospect in baseball.
Duncan was drafted as a third baseman, but was converted into a first baseman while in the Yankee organization, due to the long-term contract of Yankee Alex Rodriguez. However, Duncan began to struggle when he reached Triple-A.
After the 2009 season, the Yankees released Duncan. He spent the 2010 season in the Atlanta Braves organization, playing for the Double-A Mississippi Braves. Duncan signed a minor league contract with an invitation to 2011 spring training with the Colorado Rockies. He was released on April 4. On April 19, Duncan was signed to a minor league contract by the St. Louis Cardinals and assigned to Double-A Springfield. He signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals on November 16, 2011.
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Eric Hinske
Eric Scott Hinske (born August 5, 1977 in Menasha, Wisconsin) is a Major League Baseball outfielder, first baseman, and third baseman currently in the Atlanta Braves organization. Hinske has spent time at the major league level with the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Rays, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves playing third base, first base, left field, and right field. He is listed at 6'2", 235 pounds. The 2002 AL Rookie of the Year Award winner, Hinske may be best known for having played in three consecutive World Series each one with a different team, losing with the Rays in 2008 and winning with the Red Sox in 2007 and Yankees in 2009.
Eric played for Menasha High School under the coach of Terry Wittmann, where he broke many hitting records, in addition to playing football as a running back. After playing for the University of Arkansas, he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 17th round of the 1998 amateur draft.
In March 2001, Hinske was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Miguel Cairo.
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Eric Milton
Eric Robert Milton (born August 4, 1975 in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania) is a former American left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Milton graduated from Bellefonte Area High School in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania and attended college at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Milton was selected by the New York Yankees in the 1st round (20th pick) of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. He played one season in the Yankees minor league system and was then traded to the Minnesota Twins on February 6, 1998 (along with three other players) in exchange for Chuck Knoblauch.
He made his Major League debut on April 5, 1998 for the Twins against the Kansas City Royals, working six scoreless innings to pick up the victory. He was 8–14 in his debut season with a 5.64 ERA in 32 starts.
On September 11, 1999, he struck out 13 batters in pitching a 7–0 no-hitter against the Anaheim Angels, the fifth no-hitter in Twins history.
With Minnesota, Milton had a record of 57–51, with 715 strikeouts and a 4.76 ERA, and was selected to the 2001 AL All-Star team. He went 1–0 with a 1.65 ERA with the Twins in the 2002 and 2003 playoffs, and was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitcher Carlos Silva and infielder Nick Punto following the 2003 season.
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Erick Aybar
Erick Johan Aybar (born January 14, 1984 in Baní, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball shortstop with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Aybar has also previously played in the Dominican Republic. He is affectionately referred to as "Admiral Aybar" by Angels fans, named after the beloved Star Wars character Admiral Ackbar.
Aybar was signed by the then Anaheim Angels as an amateur free agent in 2002 and made his Major League debut on May 16, 2006 a pinch runner against the Toronto Blue Jays. He recorded his first Major League hit, in his first start, on May 20, 2006 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, a single to right field in the fourth inning off of Brett Tomko.
Aybar hit his first career major league home run on September 25, 2007, in a game against the Texas Rangers.
On September 5, 2009, Aybar tied a franchise record for most triples in a game, 2, against the Kansas City Royals.
September 8, 2009, Aybar had his first career walk-off hit, against the Seattle Mariners.
In game 4 of the 2009 ALCS, Aybar made a single non-glove hand catch to get a double play.
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Ernie Banks
Ernest "Ernie" Banks (born January 31, 1931 in Dallas, Texas), nicknamed "Mr. Cub", is a retired professional baseball player. He played as a shortstop and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 seasons on the National League's (NL) Chicago Cubs team, from 1953 through 1971. Banks was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977 and the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, in 1999.
Banks was a letterman and standout in football, basketball and track at Booker T. Washington High School in Dallas, Texas, from which he graduated in 1950.
Banks signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League in 1950 and broke into the Major Leagues in 1953 with the Chicago Cubs as their first black player. He played for the Cubs his entire career, starting at shortstop and moving to first base in 1962.
Initially Banks' double play partner was Gene Baker, the second black player on the Cubs, and Banks' roommate on road trips. Thus making Banks and Baker, the first all black double play combination in major league history. When Steve Bilko would play first base, Cubs' announcer and home-town rooter Bert Wilson would refer to the Banks-Baker-Bilko double play combination as "Bingo to Bango to Bilko". This combination would not last quite as long as "Tinker to Evers to Chance", but Banks would become a Cubs institution.
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Evan Longoria
Evan Michael Longoria (born October 7, 1985) is a Major League Baseball third baseman for the Tampa Bay Rays. Formerly, Longoria was a star infielder for the Long Beach State University baseball team, the 2005 Cape Cod League MVP, and the 2006 Big West Co-Player of the Year.
He made his major league debut for the Rays in 2008, and was named to the American League team for the 2008 MLB All Star Game. Longoria was also named the 2008 American League Rookie of the Year on November 10. Longoria had one of the biggest hits in Rays history when he hit a walkoff homerun in extra innings of the last game of the 2011 season, snapping a tie with the Red Sox in the race for the American League wildcard spot and sending his team into the post season. This home run won a GIBBY award for the best walk off home run of the 2011 season.
Born in Downey, California, Longoria graduated from Saint John Bosco High School in Bellflower, CA. He was a two-year letterman in baseball and as a senior was a first team All-League selection. Longoria did not receive any scholarship offers to play college baseball. USC was the only program to consider him, but eventually backed out of recruiting him. At 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, many baseball recruiters felt Longoria was too slim by Division I baseball standards. As a result, he attended Rio Hondo Community College during his freshman season before LBSU offered him a scholarship.
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Everett Scott
Lewis Everett Scott (November 19, 1892 – November 2, 1960), nicknamed "Deacon", was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for 12 seasons with the Boston Red Sox (1914–1921), New York Yankees (1922–1925), Washington Senators (1925), Chicago White Sox (1926) and Cincinnati Reds (1926). Scott batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Bluffton, Indiana.
Scott compiled a lifetime batting average of .249, hitting 20 home runs with 551 RBI in 1654 games. He led American League shortstops in fielding percentage seven straight seasons (1916–22) and appeared in 1,307 consecutive games from June 20, 1916 through May 6, 1925, setting a record later broken by Lou Gehrig. It is still the third-longest such streak in history.
Scott was a member of three Boston Red Sox World Series championship teams in 1915-16 and 1918), and also played with the New York Yankees in the 1922 and 1923 Series, winning in 1923.
Scott died in Fort Wayne, Indiana at age 67.
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Francisco Cervelli
Francisco Cervelli ( /tʃɛərˈvɛli/; born March 6, 1986) is a Major League Baseball catcher for the New York Yankees organization who currently plays at the AAA level with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. He was an international signee by the Yankees in 2003 and played in the 2009 World Baseball Classic for the Italian team. He is Venezuelan and of Italian descent.
In Venezuela, Cervelli played shortstop, second base, and sometimes pitched. The Yankees signed him as an international free agent with the understanding that he would try catching.
Cervelli played in the Dominican Summer League in 2003. He arrived as a switch hitter, but was told to stick to batting right-handed.
After struggling to adjust to professional baseball in 2004 and 2005, Cervelli batted .309 for the Short Season Single-A Staten Island Yankees in 2006. In 2007, he played for the Tampa Yankees, where he batted .279 with an OBP of .387 and two home runs. Baseball America rated him the 23rd-best prospect on the Yankees prior to the 2008 season. He began the 2009 season with the Double-A Trenton Thunder.
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Frank Chance
Frank Leroy Chance (September 9, 1876 – September 15, 1924) was a Major League Baseball player at the turn of the 20th century. Performing the roles of first baseman and manager, Chance led the Chicago Cubs to four National League championships in the span of five years (1906–1910) and earned the nickname "The Peerless Leader".
Chance was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946.
Born in Fresno, California, Chance began his career in 1898 with the Chicago Cubs and played irregularly until 1902. In 1903 he asserted himself with a .327 batting average, 67 stolen bases and 81 RBI in 441 at-bats. Chance was the first player ever ejected from a World Series game, doing so in Game 3 of the 1910 World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics.
He was part of the trio of infielders remembered for their double-play ability in "Tinker to Evers to Chance", also known as "Baseball's Sad Lexicon," written by the 28-year-old New York Evening Mail newspaper columnist Franklin Pierce Adams in July 1910,.
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Frank Robinson
Frank Robinson (born August 31, 1935) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He played from 1956 to 1976, most notably for the Cincinnati Reds and the Baltimore Orioles. He is the only player to win league MVP honors in both the National and American Leagues. He won the Triple crown, was a member of two teams that won the World Series (the 1966 and 1970 Baltimore Orioles), and amassed the fourth-most career home runs at the time of his retirement (he is currently ninth). Robinson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982.
Robinson was the first African-American hired to serve as manager in Major League history. He managed the Cleveland Indians during the last two years of his playing career, compiling a 186–189 record. He went on to manage the San Francisco Giants, the Baltimore Orioles, and the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals.
Robinson attended McClymonds High School in Oakland, California, where he was a basketball teammate of Bill Russell. During the off-season while playing for the Reds in the late 1950s, he attended Xavier University in Cincinnati.
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Frank Viola
Frank John Viola, Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–91), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995) and Toronto Blue Jays (1996). A three-time All-Star, he was named World Series MVP with the Twins in 1987 and won the AL Cy Young Award in 1988. Long-time Tigers manager Sparky Anderson said of Viola, "...He's an artist; I love watching him work..." His overall career stats are impressive, with a 3.73 ERA, 176-150 record, 74 complete games, and 16 shutouts in 421 games.
He batted and threw left-handed, and was nicknamed "Sweet Music" – a nickname he picked up after a Minnesota sports writer declared that when Viola pitched, there was "Sweet Music' in the Dome. The nickname was a play on the fact that his last name is also a name of a musical instrument. A fan began displaying a banner bearing the phrase in the outfield's upper deck whenever Viola pitched. Twins fans considered the banner to be a good luck charm. The banner is now property of the Minnesota Historical Society. It was again displayed when Viola was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame. Frank was honored as a member of the Twins' "All Dome" team in 2009.
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Fred Lynn
Fredric Michael "Fred" Lynn (born February 3, 1952) is an American former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1974–1980), California Angels (1981–1984), Baltimore Orioles (1985–1988), Detroit Tigers (1988–1989) and San Diego Padres (1990).
Fred Lynn was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2002 and to the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.
After graduation from USC, Lynn started his career for the Red Sox with a phenomenal 1975 season in which he won the Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year awards, the first player ever to win both in the same season. (The feat has since been duplicated by Seattle Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki in 2001.) Lynn and fellow rookie outfielder Jim Rice were dubbed as the “Gold Dust Twins” because of their combined baseball talents. In 1975, Lynn led the American League in doubles, runs scored and slugging percentage, finished second in the batting race with a .331 average, and won a Gold Glove Award for his defensive play. On June 18 he bombed the Tigers with 3 HR, 10 RBI, and 16 total bases in one game.
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Fred McGriff
Frederick Stanley McGriff (born October 31, 1963 in Tampa, Florida) is a left-handed former Major League Baseball player who starred for several teams from the mid-1980s until the early 2000s. A power-hitting first baseman with a tall, lanky build, the five-time All-Star became, in 1992, the first player since the dead-ball era to lead both leagues in home runs. Although he never hit more than 37 homers in a single season, he finished his career only seven homers away from joining the exclusive 500 home run club. He won a World Series title as a first baseman with the Atlanta Braves in 1995. He currently works in the Tampa Bay Rays' front office as an advisor. He also currently works for Bright House Sports Network as a co-host for "The Baysball Show".
McGriff's nickname, "Crime Dog", is a play on McGruff, a cartoon dog created for American police to raise children's awareness on crime prevention. At first, McGriff stated he would prefer "Fire Dog" (a reference to a fire in the press-box of Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium the day the Braves acquired him from the Padres; symbolically, the then-slumping Braves "caught fire" and ended up winning their division), but since has stated that he actually is fond of the "Crime Dog" nickname.
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Freddy García
Freddy Antonio García (born October 6, 1976 in Caracas, Venezuela), nicknamed "The Chief", is a Venezuelan Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher for the New York Yankees. During his major league career, he has also pitched for the Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers, and Chicago White Sox.
García throws a fastball that can get into the 90s and a hard slider. He also throws a two-seam fastball, a curveball, a split-finger fastball and occasionally uses a changeup. Garcia's best year was in 2001 in which he led the American League in innings pitched and ERA. He made the All-Star team in 2001 and 2002. In 2005, he was a member of the World Series winning Chicago White Sox and started the series winning game 4.
Originally signed by the Houston Astros as a non-draft amateur free agent in 1993, García was acquired by Seattle in 1998, along with Carlos Guillén and John Halama in the trade that sent Randy Johnson to the Astros.
During García's rookie season, he pitched 201 innings, compiling a 17–8 record with 170 strikeouts and a 4.07 ERA in 33 starts. After going 9–5 in his second season, he went on to win 18, 16, 12, 13, and 14 games over the course of the next five seasons. Garcia was the American League pitcher on the mound when the 2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was called after 11 innings, and ended as a 7–7 tie. The other pitcher was Vicente Padilla of the Philadelphia Phillies.
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Freddy Guzmán
Freddy Antonio Guzmán (born January 20, 1981) is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.
Guzmán was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the San Diego Padres on April 17, 2000. In 2004 he led all minor leaguers in stolen bases, with 90.
He made his major league debut on August 17, 2004, going 1–5 with a walk. He got a hit in his first six games in the majors. He missed all of the 2005 season following Tommy John surgery. Guzman hit his first MLB home run on September 11, 2007, at Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers) off left-handed pitcher Clay Rapada. Guzmán is well known in the minor leagues for his base running. He has had 443 stolen bases over 8 seasons.
He was ranked by Baseball America as the second-best prospect in the Padres organization in 2004. In 2007, he came to spring training to compete with Kenny Lofton, Marlon Byrd, and Jerry Hairston, Jr. for playing time in center field, but Guzmán did not make the opening day roster and played the entire season in Triple-A Oklahoma.
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Félix Fermín
Félix José Fermín Minaya (born October 9, 1963 in Mao, Dominican Republic) is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1987-1988), Cleveland Indians (1989-1993), Seattle Mariners (1994-1995) and Chicago Cubs (1996).
Along with Reggie Jefferson, Fermín was traded by the Cleveland Indians to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Omar Vizquel before the 1994 season. Fermín was a regular starter in 1995 when the Mariners won the American League's Western Division. He led the AL in sacrifice hits (32) in 1989; he also led the AL in most at bats per strikeout (34.3) in 1993. In 1996, Fermin was very nearly traded to the Yankees for Mariano Rivera.
In a 10-season career, Fermín played in 903 games and had 2,767 at bats, 294 runs, 718 hits, 86 doubles, 11 triples, 4 home runs, 207 runs batted in, 27 stolen bases, 166 walks, a .259 batting average, a .305 on base percentage, a .303 slugging average, 838 total bases.
Fermín is the current manager for Águilas Cibaeñas of the Dominican Winter League. Since 2000, he has led the team to five championships until he was removed from the job in 2009. He was then hired to be the manager for the Gigantes del Cibao until the Aguilas Cibaeñas hired him back in 2011.
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Garret Anderson
Garret Joseph Anderson (born June 30, 1972, in Los Angeles, California) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played most of his career with the California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels (appearing with the team under all three of its recent names). He is the Angels' franchise leader in games played, at bats, hits, total bases, singles, doubles, grand slams, extra-base hits, career RBIs, single-game RBIs, and consecutive games (12) with an RBI.
Garret Anderson attended Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, California. While there, he was a three-sport star in baseball, football, and basketball. In baseball, he won two All-Los Angeles City honors and two All-League Honors, and as a junior, helped his team win the Los Angeles City Championship. In basketball, as a senior, he won All-Los Angeles City honors and All-League honors.
Anderson was drafted by the California Angels in the fourth round of the 1990 MLB Draft and made his Major League debut on July 27, 1994. He had two hits in four at-bats in that game, recording his first career hit on a single to right field off of Oakland Athletics pitcher Ron Darling in the bottom of the third. He appeared in only five games with the Angels in 1994, getting five hits in 13 at-bats.
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Garry Maddox
Garry Lee Maddox (born September 1, 1949 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who was known for his outstanding defense.
Maddox was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the second round of the 1968 amateur draft. Maddox missed two seasons due to his service in the U.S. Army during the 1969 and 1970 seasons. Exposure to chemicals in Vietnam left his skin highly sensitive, and he has worn a full beard ever since to protect his face.
Maddox reached the major leagues with the Giants in 1972. On May 4, 1975, the Giants traded him to the Philadelphia Phillies for first baseman Willie Montañez after the Phillies had failed in their efforts to acquire Rusty Staub from the Mets. The Phillies traded Montanez with the intention to replace him at first-base with Dick Allen. Maddox went on to win his first Gold Glove Award as the top center fielder in the National League. Montanez was traded away the next year.
Maddox's 1975 Gold Glove was his first of eight in a row. His sparkling defensive play led Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas to remark, "Two-thirds of the Earth is covered by water, the other one-third is covered by Garry Maddox." (This quote has also been attributed to Ralph Kiner, the Hall-of-Fame slugger-turned-broadcaster for the New York Mets.) Kalas nicknamed Maddox the "Secretary of Defense."
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Gary Carter
Gary Edmund Carter (April 8, 1954 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball catcher whose 21-year career was spent primarily with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. Nicknamed "Kid" for his youthful exuberance, Carter was named an All-Star 11 times, and was a member of one World Series championship team.
Known throughout his career for his hard hitting as well has his excellent defense behind the plate, Carter made a major contribution to the Mets' World Series championship in 1986, including a 12th-inning single against the Houston Astros that won Game 5 of the NLCS and a 10th-inning single against the Boston Red Sox to start the fabled comeback rally in Game 6 of the World Series. He is one of only three people ever to be named captain of the Mets, and he had his number retired by the Expos.
After retiring from baseball, Carter coached baseball at the college and minor-league level. He was inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.
Carter was born in Culver City, California in 1954 to Jim Carter, an aircraft worker, and his wife, Inge. When Gary was 12, Inge died of leukemia. He attended high school at Sunny Hills High School, in Fullerton, CA, where he played football as a quarterback and baseball as an infielder. After receiving more than 100 scholarships for athletics, Carter signed a letter of intent to play football at University of California, Los Angeles, but instead signed with the Montreal Expos after they drafted him in the 1972 Major League Baseball Draft.
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Gary Denbo
Gary Brian Denbo (born December 9, 1960 in Princeton, Indiana) is currently a Major League Professional Scout for the New York Yankees professional baseball organization.
Denbo was drafted as an infielder by the Cincinnati Reds in the 17th round of the 1983 amateur draft. Denbo played four years in the minor leagues, reaching Double A in 1986.
After retiring as a player, Denbo became a minor league coach and manager. Denbo took his first coaching position in 1986 as a Player-coach for the Cincinnati Reds Double-A club in Vermont. He remained with the Reds organization through 1989.
In 1990, Denbo joined the Yankees organization. He served as a hitting coach and manager for minor league teams in the Yankees organization through 1996. In 1997, he took over as the hitting coordinator for the entire Yankees organization, and in 2000 was also the Assistant Minor League Director.
In 2001, Denbo was the Major League Hitting Coach for the New York Yankees. He also served as the Hitting Coach for the American League All-star team in the 2001 All-star game in Seattle.
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Gary Majewski
Gary Wayne Majewski ( /məˈdʒɛski/; born February 26, 1980) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.
Majewski graduated in 1998 from St. Pius X High School in Houston, where he was unanimously selected for Houston Player of the Year for his achievement of maintaining a 1.64 ERA and a 14-3 record. With that, he led his team to the state championship in Class 5A TAPPS.
In the majors, Majewski had an ERA of 12.93 and 4 wins and 4 losses during the 2005 season. In his career, he has pitched 2400.3 innings, as of the 2008 season.
Majewski was traded by the Washington Nationals to the Cincinnati Reds along with Bill Bray, Royce Clayton, and Brendan Harris for Austin Kearns, Felipe López, and Ryan Wagner. The trade caused some controversy, as the Reds front office was apparently unaware of cortisone shots that had been given to Majewski because of arm pain before the trade. It was alleged that Majeski was known to be injured by Washington GM Jim Bowden and the trade was an attempt to dump him for some value to some unsuspecting team. In his time with that Nationals Mejewski was very good, with a 2.93 ERA in 2005 and a 3.58 ERA with Washington up until he was traded.
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Gary Tuck
Gary Robert Tuck (born September 6, 1954 in Amsterdam, New York) is currently the bullpen coach for the Boston Red Sox.
A graduate of Indiana University, Tuck has 23 years of professional coaching experience. He started his baseball career as a catcher for the Montreal Expos organization and played for them during three minor league seasons. Following his playing retirement, he served as an assistant coach at the University of Notre Dame in 1980, and Arizona State University in 1981.
After winning an NCAA championship with Arizona State, Tuck was hired to coach for the nearby Tucson Toros, a Minor League affiliate of the Houston Astros. Tuck spent eight years in the Astros organization. In 1986 he managed the Double-A Columbus Astros to a league championship, winning Southern League Manager of the Year honors.
By 1989, Tuck was a coach on the New York Yankees Triple-A team, the Columbus Clippers. In 1990, Tuck served as bullpen coach to the Yankees. The next year he was the manager of the Cleveland Indians Single-A team, a job he held before switching to a Scout for the Indians.
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Gavin Floyd
Gavin Christopher Floyd (born January 27, 1983, in Annapolis, Maryland) is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Chicago White Sox. He stands 6' 5" tall, weighs 220 pounds, and throws and bats right-handed.
In 2001, Floyd was selected fourth by the Phillies in the MLB amateur draft, immediately before fellow Mount Saint Joseph High School graduate Mark Teixeira.
In his first professional season (2002), Floyd pitched for the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws of the South Atlantic League (SAL). A highlight of his impressive first year (2.77 ERA, .200 BAA) was pitching the first nine-inning no-hitter in BlueClaws history on July 24 against the Lexington Legends. However, Floyd actually lost the game, 1-0, due to a pair of sixth-inning errors, making him the first SAL pitcher since 1966 to lose a no-hitter.[citation needed]
In 2004, Floyd was a non-roster invitee to spring training. He began the season with the Reading Phillies (AA) and did not allow any runs in his first 4 starts, allowing only 1 runner to make it past 2nd base. He was named the Phillies farm system Minor League Pitcher of the Week, as well as Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April (2-0, 0.00 ERA). He was promoted to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (AAA) in July and made 5 starts before having his contract purchased by Phillies as a September callup.
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Gene Michael
Eugene Richard Michael (born June 2, 1938 in Kent, Ohio) is a former player, manager and executive in Major League Baseball.
Michael earned the nickname "Stick" due to his skinny frame. After finishing high school, he went to Kent State University where he played baseball and basketball. After being drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1959, Michael spent 10 seasons in the major leagues playing mostly at shortstop. He spent only one year with the Pirates, his first season in the majors (1966). That winter he played basketball with the Columbus Comets of the North American Basketball Association (1966-67 season) (He would later return to Columbus in 1979 to manage the Columbus Clippers minor league baseball team). The following year he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers with Bob Bailey for Maury Wills. He would only spend one season in Los Angeles, and was then purchased by the New York Yankees. He played for the Yankees from 1968 until 1974, beginning what would be a lifetime relationship with the team. His last season in the majors was in 1975 when he played for the Detroit Tigers. Michael then signed with the Boston Red Sox in 1976, but did not play a game with Boston. He was signed to accrue the ten years of service time required for his pension.
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Gene Tenace
Fury Gene Tenace ( /ˈtɛnɨs/; born Fiore Gino Tennaci; October 10, 1946), better known as Gene Tenace, is an Italian-American former professional baseball player and current coach in Major League Baseball. He was a catcher and first baseman from 1969 through 1983. Tenace was drafted by the Kansas City Athletics from Valley High School in Lucasville, Ohio and played for the Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted and threw right-handed. Tenace was one of the top catchers of his era and won the 1972 World Series Most Valuable Player Award. He was known for his power, especially versus right-handed pitching.
Tenace was selected in baseball's first entry draft, being taken in the 20th round of the 1965 Major League Baseball Draft by the then Kansas City Athletics. Tenace made his major league debut for Oakland on May 29, 1969 against the Detroit Tigers at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum where he went 0–4 with 2 strikeouts in a 8–4 Oakland loss. He hit the first home run of his career on June 6, 1969 at Tiger Stadium against Earl Wilson of the Detroit Tigers. He finished the 1969 season with a .158 batting average, 1 home run and 2 runs batted in, appearing in just 38 games as a third-string catcher.
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George Brett
George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953), is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are the most by any third baseman in major league history, and 16th all-time. Brett is one of four players in MLB history to accumulate 3,000 hits, 300 home runs, and a career .300 batting average with the others being Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Stan Musial. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 on the first ballot.
Brett was born in Glen Dale, West Virginia. He was the youngest of four sons of a sports-minded family which included Ken, the second oldest, a major league pitcher who had pitched in the 1967 World Series at age 19. Brothers John (eldest) and Bobby had brief careers in the minor leagues. Although his three older brothers were born in Brooklyn, George was born in the northern panhandle of West Virginia. Jack & Ethel Brett then moved the family to the Midwest and three years later to El Segundo, a suburb of Los Angeles, just south of Los Angeles International Airport. George grew up hoping to follow in the footsteps of his three older brothers. He graduated from El Segundo High School in 1971 and was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the second round (29th overall) of the 1971 baseball draft. His high school teammate was pitcher Scott McGregor.
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George Steinbrenner
George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930 – July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees. During Steinbrenner's 37-year ownership from 1973 to his death in July 2010, the longest in club history, the Yankees earned seven World Series titles and 11 pennants. His outspokenness and role in driving up player salaries made him one of the sport's most controversial figures. Steinbrenner was also involved in the Great Lakes shipping industry.
Known as a hands-on baseball executive, he earned the nickname "The Boss." He had a tendency to meddle in daily on-field decisions, and to hire and fire (and sometimes re-hire) managers. Former Yankees manager Dallas Green gave him the derisive nickname "Manager George."
He died after suffering a heart attack in his Tampa home on the morning of July 13, 2010, the day of the 81st All-Star Game.
Steinbrenner was born in Rocky River, Ohio, the only son of Rita (née Haley) and Henry George Steinbrenner II. His mother was an Irish immigrant who had changed her name from O'Haley to Haley. His father was of German descent and had been a world-class track and field hurdler while at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in engineering in 1927, first in his class. The elder Steinbrenner later became a wealthy shipping magnate who ran the family firm operating freight ships hauling ore and grain on the Great Lakes. George III was named after his paternal grandfather, George Michael Steinbrenner II. Steinbrenner has two younger sisters, Susan and Judy.
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Gerrit Cole
Gerrit Alan Cole (born September 8, 1990 in Newport Beach, California) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. He was selected by the Pirates with the 1st overall selection in the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft. He pitched for the UCLA Bruins team at UCLA.
Cole attended Orange Lutheran High School. He was named to the USA Today All-USA high school baseball team. Baseball America rated him the 17th best prospect. He was named the ESPN Rise Athlete of the Month for three consecutive months in March, April, and May 2010.[citation needed]
Cole was drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round (28th overall) of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft. The Yankees, planning on offering Cole a bonus above the recommended amount for the slot, waited until the deadline to attempt to sign Cole[citation needed], by which time Cole had decided to follow through with his collegiate scholarship with UCLA. Despite being represented by Scott Boras, and though the Yankees were believed to be ready to offer upwards of $4 million, Cole never negotiated with the Yankees, as he was determined to attend college.
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Gil Hodges
Gilbert Ray Hodges (April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. During an 18-year baseball career, he played in 1943 and from 1947–63, spending most of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. He was the major leagues' outstanding first baseman in the 1950s, with teammate Duke Snider being the only player to have more home runs or runs batted in during the decade. For a time, his 370 career home runs were a National League (NL) record for right-handed hitters, and briefly ranked tenth in major league history; he held the NL record for career grand slams from 1957 to 1974. He anchored the infield on six pennant winners, and remains one of the most beloved and admired players in team history.[citation needed] A sterling defensive player, he won the first three Gold Glove Awards and led the NL in double plays four times and in putouts, assists and fielding percentage three times each. He ranked second in NL history with 1,281 assists and 1,614 double plays when his career ended, and was also among the league's career leaders in games (6th, 1,908) and total chances (10th, 16,751) at first base. He managed the New York Mets to the 1969 World Series title, one of the greatest upsets in Series history,[citation needed] before his death in 1972.
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Gil McDougald
Gilbert James McDougald (May 19, 1928 – November 28, 2010) was an American infielder who spent all ten seasons of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1960. He was a member of eight American League (AL) pennant winners and five World Series Champions. He was also the AL Rookie of the Year in 1951 and a five-time All-Star. He was most remembered for accidentally hitting a line drive that severely injured Herb Score's right eye in 1957.
He was born in San Francisco, California, and attended the University of San Francisco.
He played his first major league game on April 20,1951. On May 3 of that year, he tied a major league record, since broken, by batting in six runs in one inning. Later in the year, in the World Series, he became the first rookie to hit a grand slam home run in the Series. He narrowly beat out Minnie Miñoso in the voting for the 1951 American League Rookie of the Year. His entire major league career was spent on the New York Yankees, wearing uniform number 12. He was a versatile player, playing all the infield positions except first base: 599 games at second base, 508 games at third, and 284 at shortstop. He played in five All-Star Games: in 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, and 1959.
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Glenallen Hill
Glenallen Hill (born March 22, 1965, in Santa Cruz, California) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 13 seasons. Hill played with the Toronto Blue Jays (1989–91), Cleveland Indians (1991–93), Chicago Cubs (1993–94, 1998–2000) San Francisco Giants (1995–97), Seattle Mariners (1998), New York Yankees (2000), and Anaheim Angels (2001). Hill batted and threw right-handed. Hill was also infamous for his defensive escapades, which were once described by then-Mariners pitching coach Bryan Price as "akin to watching a gaffed haddock surface for air." He has also been referred to as The Juggler because he would struggle to hold onto a ball when he caught one. Currently, he is the first base coach for the Colorado Rockies.
Hill graduated from Santa Cruz High School in 1983, and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1983 amateur draft, in the ninth round and 219th overall.
Hill made his major league debut on July 31, 1989, with the Toronto Blue Jays. In 19 games that year, he collected 15 hits including his first career home run and seven runs batted in. His play that season allowed him to remain with the team for the 1990 season, where he hit .231 over 84 games including 12 home runs and 32 runs batted in. In 1991, he played in 35 games for the Blue Jays compiling a .253 average. On June 27, 1991 Hill was traded to the Cleveland Indians.
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Graeme Lloyd
Graeme John Lloyd (born 9 April 1967 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who had a ten year career from 1993 to 2003.
He played with the Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals all of the American League and the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins and New York Mets all of the National League. He is believed to be the fourth native Australian to pitch in Major League Baseball. He also Trained young Baseball players from the age of 9 to 18, including all prospect players such as Kimani Simmons of Cuban descent and David Sdrougias of Greek Descent.
Lloyd was used exclusively as a relief pitcher during his ten years in the major leagues. He ended his career with 30 wins against 36 losses, 17 saves, and 97 holds. At his peak, Lloyd threw a sinking fastball that reached 90 miles (140 km) per hour and a slider. Later in his career, he added a palmball to his repertoire.
For much of his career, he was used as a matchup lefty, or LOOGY (lefty one out only guy). This type of pitcher is used against an opposing team's star left-handed hitter(s) late in a game. Lloyd excelled in this role for the New York Yankees in 1998 when he posted a career-best 1.67 ERA. This effectiveness led to the Toronto Blue Jays demanding that Lloyd be included in a package anchored by starting pitcher David Wells when the Yankees traded for Toronto starting pitcher Roger Clemens.
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Graig Nettles
Graig Nettles (born August 20, 1944), nicknamed "Puff", is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins (1967–1969), Cleveland Indians (1970–1972), New York Yankees (1973–1983), San Diego Padres (1984–1986), Atlanta Braves (1987) and Montreal Expos (1988).
Nettles was one of the best defensive third basemen of all time, and despite his relatively low career batting average, he was an excellent offensive contributor, setting an American League record for career home runs by a third baseman. As a part of four pennant-winning Yankee teams, Nettles enjoyed his best season in 1977 when he won the Gold Glove Award and had career-highs in home runs (37) and runs batted in (107) in leading the Yankees to the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Nettles was born in San Diego, California. His unusual name derives from his mother's dislike of the names Greg and Craig - and her combining the two to produce "Graig". "My Dad was away at the war, so he didn't have any say". The name also led to confusion for baseball card companies; the error-prone inaugural 1981 Fleer baseball card set includes an error card where his name is spelled "Graig" on the front, and "Craig" on the back.
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Greg LeMond
Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961 in Lakewood, California) is a former professional road bicycle racer from the United States and a three-time winner of the Tour de France. He was born in Lakewood, California and raised in Reno, Nevada.
In 1986, LeMond became the first American and the first non-European cyclist to win the Tour de France. The following year he was shot and seriously injured in a hunting accident. He was able to return to the Tour in 1989, winning it dramatically in its final stage. He won again for the third time the following year in 1990. He is one of only nine cyclists to have won the Tour three or more times.
Greg LeMond was a standout junior rider who quickly established himself as one of the most talented cyclists in the professional circuit. After his initial success on the junior circuit he began competing against older, more seasoned competitors. He gained the attention of the US Cycling Federation's national team, riding for them at the 1979 Junior World Championships held in Argentina. There he won gold, silver and bronze medals, the highlight being his spectacular victory in the road race. He was selected for the 1980 U.S. Olympic cycling team, the youngest ever, at 18, to make the U.S. team; however, the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow prevented him from competing there.
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Greg Luzinski
Gregory Michael "The Bull" Luzinski (born November 22, 1950) is a former left fielder in Major League Baseball.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, he attended Notre Dame High School in Niles, Illinois. Luzinski spent the majority of his career with the Philadelphia Phillies (1970–1980), and retired as a member of the Chicago White Sox (1981–1984).
At 6'1' and 255 pounds, Luzinski was a well-liked member of the Phillies and a feared slugger who could also hit for average despite striking out frequently. While he was a mediocre defensive left fielder, he hit .300 or better for 3 consecutive seasons during the prime of his career, and was a career .276 hitter with 307 home runs and 1,128 RBIs. He was selected an All-Star between 1975 and 1978, hitting a home run off Jim Palmer in 1977 and being the top vote-getter for the National League in 1978. He was also MVP runner up in 1975 (when he led the National League in RBIs with 120) and 1977, when he posted career highs in batting average (.309), home runs (39) and RBIs (130).
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Gregg Jefferies
Gregory Scott "Gregg" Jefferies (born August 1, 1967 in Burlingame, California) is a retired infielder/outfielder in Major League Baseball who had a 14-year career from 1987 to 2000.
Drafted by the New York Mets out of Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California in the first round of the 1985 amateur draft (#20 overall), Jefferies hit .331 in his first year in the minor leagues, moving from Kingsport of the Appalachian League (rookie) to Jackson of the Texas League (AA) in two years. He was named Minor League Player of the Year for both 1986 and 1987, hitting .367 with 20 home runs, 48 doubles and 101 RBI for Jackson in the latter year, earning Jefferies a brief call-up the New York Mets at the end of the 1987 season. He went 3 for 6 in 6 games, at the age of 19, making him the youngest player in the Major Leagues that season.
The Mets decided they needed to make room for Jefferies, but didn't know where to play him, as the veteran team was full at the spots Jefferies played in the minor leagues (shortstop, third base and second base). The outfield was full also, with the team finding it difficult to get outfielders Lenny Dykstra and Mookie Wilson playing time alongside Darryl Strawberry and Kevin McReynolds, so Jefferies was sent to AAA Tidewater to start the 1988 season.
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Gregg Olson
Greggory Olson (born October 11, 1966 in Scribner, Nebraska) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played with the Baltimore Orioles (1988–93), Atlanta Braves (1994), Cleveland Indians (1995), Kansas City Royals (1995, 1997), Detroit Tigers (1996), Houston Astros (1996), Minnesota Twins (1997), Arizona Diamondbacks (1998–99) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2000–01). Olson batted and threw right-handed.
Olson attended Northwest High School in Omaha, Nebraska, where he was a pitcher and led the Huskies to four straight state titles. His father, Bill Olson, was his high school coach.
In the state championship game of his senior year, Olson threw a no-hitter.
After graduating from High School in 1985, Olson went on to pitch at Auburn University for three seasons.
Olson used to come into save situations blowing people away with his 90-plus fastball and a devastating curveball, known as "Uncle Charlie." He was drafted by the Orioles in the 1st round (4th pick) of the 1988 amateur draft and made his debut late in the season.
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Hal Chase
Harold Homer Chase (February 13, 1883 in Los Gatos, California – May 18, 1947 in Colusa, California), nicknamed "Prince Hal", was a first baseman in Major League Baseball, widely viewed as the best fielder at his position. During his career, he played for the New York Highlanders (1905–1913), Chicago White Sox (1913–1914), Buffalo Blues (1914–1915), Cincinnati Reds (1916–1918), and New York Giants (1919).
No lesser figures than Babe Ruth and Walter Johnson named him the best first baseman ever, and contemporary reports describe his glovework as outstanding. He is sometimes considered the first true star of the franchise that would eventually become the New York Yankees. In 1981, 62 years after his last major league game, baseball historians Lawrence Ritter and Donald Honig included him in their book The 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time.
Despite being an excellent hitter and his reputation as a peerless defensive player, Chase's legacy was tainted by a litany of corruption. He allegedly gambled on baseball games, and also engaged in suspicious play in order to throw games in which he played.
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Hal Newhouser
Harold "Prince Hal" Newhouser (May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998) was an American pitcher for Major League Baseball who played 17 seasons from 1939 to 1955, mostly with the Detroit Tigers of the American League. Newhouser was considered to be the most dominating pitcher of the World War II era of baseball, winning a pitcher's triple crown for the Tigers in 1945.
Newhouser was a schoolboy star at Wilbur Wright High School in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan, signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1939 at the age of 18. He made his debut on September 29 of that year. In 1940, he earned a spot on the Tigers out of spring training and remained with the team until 1953.
In his first two full big-league seasons, the young left-hander was plagued with control problems, walking more batters than he struck out while posting records of 9–9 and 9–11. He improved in 1942 and 1943, posting excellent ERAs, but still losing more than he won on a team with a weak offense.
As World War II got under way, the Tigers moved up in the standings because several of their top players, including Newhouser, were classified as 4-F (ineligible to be drafted). Newhouser was 4-F due to a leaky heart valve; he attempted to join the service anyway but was turned down several times.[citation needed]
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Hank Aaron
Henry Louis "Hank" Aaron (born February 5, 1934), nicknamed "Hammer," or "Hammerin' Hank," is a retired American baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1954 through 1976. Aaron spent 21 seasons with the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves in the National League (NL) before playing for the Milwaukee Brewers of the American League (AL) for the final two years of his career. Aaron is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked Aaron fifth on their "100 Greatest Baseball Players" list.
After playing with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League and in the minor leagues, Aaron started his major league career in 1954. In his final season, he was the last Negro League baseball player on a major league roster. His most notable achievement was breaking the career home run record set by Babe Ruth. During his career, Aaron performed at a consistently high level for an extended period of time. He hit 24 or more home runs every year from 1955 through 1973, and is the only player to hit 30 or more home runs in a season at least fifteen times.
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Harmon Killebrew
Harmon Clayton Killebrew ( /ˈkɪlɨbruː/; June 29, 1936 – May 17, 2011), nicknamed "Killer" and "Hammerin' Harmon", was an American professional baseball first baseman, third baseman, and left fielder. During his 22-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), he played for the Washington Senators, a team which later became the Minnesota Twins, and the Kansas City Royals. When he retired, he was second only to Babe Ruth in American League (AL) home runs and was the AL career leader in home runs by a right-handed batter (since broken by Alex Rodriguez). He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.
Killebrew was a stocky 6-foot tall, 195-pound hitter with a compact swing that generated tremendous power. He became one of the AL's most feared power hitters of the 1960s, hitting 40 home runs in a season eight times. In 1965, he played in the World Series with the Minnesota Twins, who lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers. His finest season was 1969, when he hit 49 home runs, recorded 140 runs batted in (RBI), and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award. Killebrew led the league six times in home runs and three times in RBIs, and was named to eleven All-Star teams.
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Harold Reynolds
Harold Craig Reynolds (born November 26, 1960) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He played from 1983–1994, primarily for the Seattle Mariners.
Reynolds was born in Eugene, Oregon and attended Corvallis High School in Corvallis, Oregon, starring in football, basketball and baseball. He was a member of the 3A State Championship football team in 1978. He graduated from Corvallis High in 1979, and was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.
Although Reynolds was drafted in the 4th round of the amateur draft on June 5, 1979, by the San Diego Padres, he elected not to sign and joined the Long Beach City College baseball team.
The following summer, on June 3, 1980, Reynolds was selected in the 1st round (2nd pick) of the amateur draft (Secondary Phase) by the Seattle Mariners. Reynolds signed with the Mariners after one season with Cal State Long Beach.
Reynolds spent several seasons in the minor leagues, playing in Lynn, Massachusetts for the Lynn Sailors(AA), before being called up by the Mariners and making his major league debut on September 2, 1983. The following season he played AAA ball before being called up again in September 1984. The season of 1985 was his official rookie season in Major League Baseball.
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Harvey Kuenn
Harvey Edward Kuenn (December 4, 1930 – February 28, 1988) was an American player, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball. As a shortstop and outfielder, he played with the Detroit Tigers (1952–59), Cleveland Indians (1960), San Francisco Giants (1961–65), Chicago Cubs (1965–66), and Philadelphia Phillies (1966). He batted and threw right-handed. After retiring, Kuenn managed the Milwaukee Brewers (1975, 1982–83).
Kuenn ( /ˈkiːn/) was born in West Allis, Wisconsin, but raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and attended Lutheran High School. He once kicked a 53-yard field goal for Lutheran in a football game, which is tied for the eighth-longest field goal in Wisconsin high school football history. He played collegiate baseball at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he was a member of Delta Upsilon Fraternity. Signed by Detroit as an amateur free agent in 1952, Kuenn was named the starting shortstop after joining the team late in the season. In his first full season in 1953, he hit .308 with 94 runs and led the major leagues with 209 hits, setting a major league rookie record with 167 singles. He received the American League Rookie of the Year and TSN Rookie of the Year awards. Also in that season, he received the first of his ten consecutive selections to the All-Star Game.
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Heath Bell
Heath Justin Bell (born September 29, 1977) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball. After taking over the San Diego Padres closer role from Trevor Hoffman in 2009, Bell was named a three-time All-Star and has been awarded with the Rolaids Relief Man Award twice and has also won the DHL Delivery Man of the Year Award and The Sporting News Reliever of the Year Award. From 2010–2011, he successfully converted 41 straight save opportunities, tied for the sixth longest streak in MLB history.
Bell was born in Oceanside, California. He attended Columbus Tustin Middle School and Tustin High School in Tustin, California, which is about 50 miles (80 km) from Oceanside. He lettered in football, basketball, and baseball.
Bell attended Santiago Canyon College where he was named a freshman All-American in 1997. In 1997 Bell made two appearances in the National Baseball Congress world series while playing for the El Dorado Broncos. He did not give up any runs and was named the league's Graduate of the Year in 2011. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 69th round of the 1997 amateur draft.
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Herb Score
Herbert Jude Score (June 7, 1933 – November 11, 2008) was a Major League Baseball pitcher and announcer.
Herb Score was born in Rosedale, N.Y. in 1934. As a teenager, he moved with his family to Lake Worth, Florida. He threw six no-hitters for the 1952 Lake Worth Community High School team, when the school won its only baseball state championship.
Score came up to the Major Leagues as a rookie in 1955 with the Cleveland Indians at the age of 21. He quickly became one of the top power pitchers in the American League, no small feat on a team that still included Bob Feller, Bob Lemon and other top pitchers, going 16–10 with a 2.85 ERA in his first year. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine on May 30, 1955. A left-hander, Score struck out 245 batters in his rookie year, a rookie record that stood until 1984, when it was topped by Dwight Gooden (Score, Gooden, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Don Sutton, Gary Nolan, Kerry Wood, Mark Langston and Hideo Nomo were the only eight rookie pitchers to top 200 strikeouts in the 20th century). It was the first time in MLB history a regular starting pitcher averaged over one strikeout per inning. In 1956, Score improved on his rookie campaign, going 20–9 with a 2.53 ERA and 263 strikeouts, while reducing the number of walks from 154 to 129, and allowed only 5.85 hits/9 innings, which would stand as a franchise record until it was broken by Luis Tiant's 5.30 in 1968.
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Hideki Irabu
Hideki Irabu (伊良部 秀輝, Irabu Hideki?, May 5, 1969 – July 27, 2011) was a Japanese professional baseball player of Okinawan and American mixed ancestry. He played professionally in both Japan and the United States.
Irabu was born on May 5, 1969 in Hirara, Okinawa, Japan then administered by the government of the United States. His father was an American service member whom Hideki never knew. Hideki's mother, Kazue, a native Okinawan, later married a restaurateur, Ichiro Irabu, from Osaka. Irabu raised Hideki as his son in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture.
Irabu pitched for the Lotte Orions, who later became the Chiba Lotte Marines, of the Pacific League from 1988 to 1996. He was known as a high-speed pitcher and in 1993, he threw a 158 km/h (98 mph) fastball against Kazuhiro Kiyohara of the Seibu Lions. This was the fastest clocked pitch in all of Japanese Professional Baseball (NPB) until 2005, when the record was broken by Marc Kroon of the Yokohama BayStars. It remains the Pacific League record.
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Hideki Matsui
Hideki Matsui (松井 秀喜, Matsui Hideki?, born June 12, 1974) is a Japanese Major League Baseball designated hitter and outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed.
After playing the first ten seasons of his career for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, he played the next seven seasons, from 2003–2009, for the New York Yankees of North America's Major League Baseball. As a free agent, Matsui has had one-year stints with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Oakland Athletics, and in April of 2012 signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Rays. Matsui has been successful in both leagues, winning the Central League Most Valuable Player Award three times in Japan, as well as the World Series Most Valuable Player Award in the United States.
Hideki Matsui was born in Neagari, Ishikawa, Japan (later merged into Nomi, Ishikawa). According to an interview on YES Network's "CenterStage", Matsui originally batted right-handed as a child. However, when he started playing with his older brother and his friends, Matsui was such a good hitter that his embarrassed brother insisted that he bat left-handed or stop playing with them. Matsui soon became an overpowering left-handed batter, thereafter batting left-handed.
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Hiroki Kuroda
Hiroki Kuroda (黒田 博樹, Kuroda Hiroki?, born February 10, 1975) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball.
Kuroda was born and lived in Osaka (Osaka-shi, Osaka-fu). His father, Kazuhiro Kuroda, was also a professional baseball player who played for the Nankai Hawks. He attended Uenomiya High School in Osaka and Senshu University in Tokyo.
He joined the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 1996 as a second-round draft pick. During his early career, he was overshadowed by the 1996 first-round draft pick, Toshikazu Sawazaki, who was the same age as Kuroda and won the Japanese Rookie of the Year award in 1997. However, Kuroda gradually built up his status to become a consistent part of the starting rotation while Sawazaki began to fade away. In 1999 he pitched in the International Cup held in Sydney, and marked a win against Korea and a complete-game shutout against Taiwan.
Kuroda won over 10 games for three consecutive years from 2001. In 2003 he became the opening-day starter, taking over for former ace Shinji Sasaoka. He pitched poorly at the beginning of the season, but improved after the all-star break to end the season with 13 wins. He marked two wins as a reliever in the 2004 Summer Olympics, contributing to the Japanese team's bronze medal. In 2005 he led the Central League with 15 wins, and won the Best Nine Award and the Golden Glove. He continued his success in 2006, ending the season with a league-leading 1.85 ERA to solidify his reputation as one of the best pitchers in Japan. The last Japanese starter to end the season with an ERA below 2.00 was Masaki Saito in 1989. He also made his first save that year on October 16 against the Chunichi Dragons, and led the league in complete games over a six-year period from 1999–2005.
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Homer Bush
Homer Giles Bush (born November 12, 1972 in East St. Louis, Illinois) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Florida Marlins. He was a part of the Yankees 1998 World Championship.
Having played football in high school for East St. Louis, Bush was drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1991. His first year in the minor leagues he batted .323 with the Arizona Padres (rookie league). After batting only .234 in 1992 in Charleston South Carolina (low A league), he batted .322 with 39 stolen bases in 1993 in Waterloo Iowa (middle A league), winning minor league player of the year for the San Diego Padres organization. His success continued in winter baseball where he played in Australia, hitting .364 and winning the batting title and being named the league MVP. In 1994, Bush split his time between the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (high A league), where he hit .335, and Wichita (AA league), where he hit .298. He then spent that off-season in the Australian Baseball League with the Brisbane Bandits. In 1995, Bush hit .280 with 34 stolen bases in Memphis (the new location of the Padres' AA affiliate). Bush was promoted to Las Vegas (AAA league) in 1996, hitting .362 before suffering a broken leg.
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Honus Wagner
Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner ( /ˈhɒnəs ˈwæɡnər/; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955 ), nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman" due to his superb speed and German heritage ("Dutch" in this instance being an alteration of "Deutsch"), was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He played in the National League from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wagner won eight batting titles, tied for the most in NL history with Tony Gwynn. He also led the league in slugging six times, and in stolen bases five times.
In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Wagner as one of the first five members. He received the second-highest vote total, behind Ty Cobb and tied with Babe Ruth.
Although Cobb is frequently cited as the greatest player of the dead-ball era, some contemporaries regarded Wagner as the better all-around player, and most baseball historians consider Wagner to be the greatest shortstop ever. Cobb himself called Wagner "maybe the greatest star ever to take the diamond."
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Huston Street
Huston Lowell Street ( /ˈhjuːstən/; born August 2, 1983, in Austin, Texas) is an American baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball.
Street attended Westlake High School in Austin, Texas from 1997–2001 where he lettered in both football and baseball. He then attended The University of Texas from 2001–2004, where he pitched for the school's baseball team. He is widely regarded as one of the best collegiate closers of all time. Street earned a form of All-American honors at Texas every season he was there and helped his team win the College World Series of collegiate baseball in 2002. In that season, he set a CWS record for the most saves and won the Series Most Valuable Player honors for his amazing work as a closer. A year later, Street led the Longhorns to the Series semifinals, and in 2004, he helped his team to the finals, only to lose in two games to Cal State Fullerton. In 2010, Street was named to the NCAA College World Series Legends Team.
Drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the first round, 40th overall, of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft, Street spent a few months in the minor leagues, spending no more than a month at each level. He then was invited to the Arizona Fall League where his team took the championship.
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Ian Kennedy
Ian Patrick Kennedy (born December 19, 1984, in Huntington Beach, California) is a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He is 6' 0" tall and weighs 190 pounds. He throws a fastball around 90 mph (tops out at 95 mph), knuckle-curve, cutter, and an above-average Vulcan changeup.
Kennedy attended La Quinta High School in Westminster, California. In his junior year, he was named CIF Division IV co-most valuable player, and earned the Orange County Register and Garden Grove League most valuable player honors, when he recorded 13 wins and led the county with a 0.38 ERA (five earned runs in 90 2/3 innings) and strikeouts (168) while batting .373 with seven home runs and 31 RBI. In his senior year, he earned All-CIF Division IV honors.
Kennedy went on to play college baseball for University of Southern California. In Kennedy's first year at USC, he went 7–2 in 16 games, with a 2.91 ERA and one save. He pitched 92⅔ innings, struck out 120, and walked 31. He also gave up 86 hits and allowed 34 runs, 30 of which were earned runs.
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Ichiro Suzuki
Ichiro Suzuki (鈴木 一朗, Suzuki Ichirō?), usually known simply as Ichiro (イチロー, Ichirō?) (born October 22, 1973) is a Japanese Major League Baseball right fielder for the Seattle Mariners. Ichiro has established a number of batting records, including the sport's single-season record for hits with 262. He had ten consecutive 200-hit seasons, the longest streak by any player, surpassing Wee Willie Keeler's streak of eight.
Ichiro moved to the United States in 2001 after playing nine years for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan's Pacific League. Posted by Orix after the 2000 season, Ichiro became Seattle's right fielder. The first Japanese-born everyday position player in the major leagues, Ichiro led the AL in batting average and stolen bases en route to being named Rookie of the Year and MVP.
Ichiro is the first MLB player to enter the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame (The Golden Players Club). He has been voted onto ten All-Star teams by the fans, winning the 2007 All-Star MVP Award for a three-hit performance that included the event's first-ever inside-the-park home run. Ichiro won a Gold Glove award in each of his first ten years in the major leagues, and has had seven hitting streaks of 20 or more games, with a high of 27.
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Ingemar Johansson
Jens Ingemar Johansson (September 22, 1932 – January 30, 2009) was a Swedish boxer and former heavyweight champion of the world. Johansson was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States. In 1959 he defeated Floyd Patterson by TKO in the third round, after flooring Patterson seven times in that round, to win the World Heavyweight Championship. As a result, Johansson won the Hickok Belt as top professional athlete of the year and was named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year and Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year".
Johansson enjoyed a successful career as a heavyweight. When he retired in 1963 he had a record of 26 wins, 17 by KO, and only 2 losses. He called his right fist "toonder and lightning" for its concussive power (it was also called "Ingo's Bingo" and the "Hammer of Thor"), and in 2003 he was ranked at #99 on The Ring's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. He reputedly had bone trouble in his right hand on and off throughout his career as a result.
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Iván Nova
Iván Manuel Nova Guance (born January 12, 1987) is a Dominican professional baseball player. A pitcher, Nova competes in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Nova made his MLB debut in 2010. He bats and throws right-handed.
Nova grew up poor in the Dominican Republic, where he started playing baseball at a young age. An unheralded prospect, the Yankees signed Nova as an international free agent in 2004. After pitching in minor league baseball through the 2008 season, the San Diego Padres selected Nova from the Yankees in the Rule 5 draft. However, the Padres opted not to carry Nova on their 25-man roster, and returned him to the Yankees.
Nova enjoyed a breakout season in the minors for the Yankees in 2009. He reached MLB with the Yankees in 2010. Nova established himself as a key member of the Yankees' starting rotation during the 2011 season.
Nova was raised in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic. His father, Manuel, managed a restaurant on the beach. To make ends meet, Nova and his four siblings slept in the same bed and often worked in their fathers' restaurant.
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Jack Morris
John Scott "Jack" Morris (born May 16, 1955) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. He played in 18 big league seasons between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers, and won 254 games throughout his career. Armed with a fastball, slider, devastating splitter and a fierce competitive spirit, Morris was a five-time All-Star (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1991), and played on four World Championship teams (1984 Tigers, 1991 Twins, and 1992 Blue Jays and 1993 with the Blue Jays) . While he gave up the most hits, earned runs and home runs of any pitcher in the 1980s, he also started the most games, pitched the most innings and had the most wins of any pitcher in that decade.
Morris attended Brigham Young University and was drafted by the Tigers in the fifth round of the 1976 draft. He broke into the Tigers' pitching rotation in 1979, posting a 17-7 record and a 3.29 ERA and establishing himself as the ace of the Detroit staff. Morris, along with catcher Lance Parrish, shortstop Alan Trammell, second baseman Lou Whitaker, and manager Sparky Anderson, played a notable role in turning the Tigers into a contending team for most of the 1980s.
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Jack Nicklaus
Jack William Nicklaus (born January 21, 1940), nicknamed "The Golden Bear", is an American professional golfer. By winning a total of 18 career major championships while producing 19 second place and 9 third place finishes in major events on the PGA Tour over a span of 25 years, he is widely regarded as the most accomplished professional golfer of all time. Nicklaus did not play that many tournaments because he wanted to focus on the Majors, but is still second on the PGA-tournament winning list, with 73 victories.
After winning two U.S. Amateurs in 1959 and 1961, and challenging for the 1960 U.S. Open, Nicklaus turned professional toward the end of 1961. The 1962 U.S. Open was both Nicklaus' first major championship victory and his first professional win. This win over Arnold Palmer began the on-course rivalry between the two. In 1966, Nicklaus won the Masters Tournament for the second year in a row, becoming the first golfer to achieve this, and also won The Open Championship, completing his career slam of major championships. At age 26, he became the youngest to do so at the time. In 1968 and 1969, Nicklaus did not win a major tournament. He then won another Open Championship in 1970.
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Jackie Stewart
Sir John Young 'Jackie' Stewart, OBE (born 11 June 1939) is a Scottish former racing driver. Nicknamed the 'Flying Scot', he competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am. He is well known in the United States as a color commentator (pundit) of racing television broadcasts, and as a spokesman for Ford, where his Scottish accent has made him a distinctive presence. Between 1997 and 1999, in partnership with his son, Paul, he was team principal of the Stewart Grand Prix Formula One racing team. In 2009 he was ranked fifth of the fifty greatest Formula One drivers of all time by journalist Kevin Eason who wrote: "He has not only emerged as a great driver, but one of the greatest figures of motor racing."
Stewart's family were Austin, later Jaguar, car dealers and had built up a successful business, Dumbuck Garage, in Milton, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland where Stewart was born and was educated at Dumbarton Academy. His father had been an amateurmotorcycle racer, and his brother Jimmy was a racing driver with a growing local reputation who drove for Ecurie Ecosse and competed in the 1953 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, until he went off at Copse Corner in the wet.
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Jake Peavy
Jacob Edward Peavy (nicknamed "Joliet Jake," born May 31, 1981 in Mobile, Alabama) is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who plays for the Chicago White Sox. He bats and throws right-handed. Peavy stands 6'1" tall (1.85 m) and weighs 182 pounds (83 kg).
Peavy won the 2007 NL Cy Young Award after winning the pitching triple crown that year.
Peavy was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 15th round (472nd overall) of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft out of high school (St. Paul's Episcopal School). He was named the high school player of the year in the state of Alabama. Peavy declined an offer to pitch for Auburn University in order to accept the Padres' contract offer.
Peavy pitched for the Arizona League Padres and the Idaho Falls Braves in 1999 and the Fort Wayne Wizards in 2000. In 2001, Peavy played with the Lake Elsinore Storm and the Mobile BayBears. He spent all of 2002 playing for the BayBears.
Peavy was called up from Double A to make his Major League Debut on June 22, 2002 against the New York Yankees at Qualcomm Stadium. He lost the game, allowing one run on 3 hits in 6 innings while striking out 4.
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Jamie Moyer
Jamie Moyer (born November 18, 1962) is an American professional baseball pitcher currently in the Colorado Rockies organization, although he was designated for assignment by the Rockies on May 30, 2012.
At the time of his last game to date (in May 2012), he was the oldest player in the major leagues and had the most wins, losses, and strikeouts of any active Major League pitcher. He has been likened to Phil Niekro. On April 17, 2012, Moyer became the oldest pitcher in MLB history to win a game. On May 16, 2012, he broke his own winning-pitcher record and also set the record for the oldest major-league player to get a Run Batted In.
Moyer has also pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies. He made the All-Star team in 2003, while with the Mariners. Moyer has won numerous awards for philanthropy and community service, including the 2003 Roberto Clemente Award, the 2003 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, the 2003 Hutch Award, and the 2004 Branch Rickey Award. Moyer is one of only 29 players in baseball history to date to have appeared in Major League games in four decades.
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Jason Grimsley
Jason Alan Grimsley (born August 7, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He made his debut on September 8, 1989, and pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Anaheim Angels, New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles, and most recently, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Like many relief pitchers, Grimsley began his career as a starting pitcher, but he became a full-time reliever while a member of the Yankees.
Grimsley began his career in 1989 and pitched very poorly, surrendering 13 runs in 18 1/3 innings. The following year, he went 3–2 and made 11starts. In 1991, he went 1–7 with a 4.87 ERA in 12 starts. Following the 1991 season, he was traded to the Houston Astros for Curt Schilling.
He spent the entire 1992 season in the minors and on March 30, 1993 he was released by Houston and signed with the Cleveland Indians. In his first season with Cleveland, he went 3–4 over 10 games, and in 1994, went 5–2 with a 4.57 ERA in 14 games. Grimsley is known for his leading role in the 1994 Bat Burglary involving Albert Belle and an allegedly corked bat that was taken away by umpires for examination by the league. Grimsley was the player who crawled through a Comiskey Park air conditioning duct to reach the room where the confiscated bat had been secured. He took the corked bat and replaced it with a clean bat. The incident made ESPN.com's "Biggest Cheaters in Baseball" list at number 4 and Foxsports.com list of the biggest cheaters in baseball history at #5.[citation needed] The next season, he was used mostly as a reliever, making only two starts. Following the season, on February 14, 1996 he was traded to the Angels.
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Jason Heyward
Jason Alias Heyward (born August 9, 1989 in Ridgewood, New Jersey), nicknamed J-Hey and J-Hey-Kid, is a Major League Baseball right fielder for the Atlanta Braves. He throws and bats left-handed.
Heyward was considered the consensus number one Major League Baseball prospect for the 2010 season. Baseball America, Keith Law of ESPN.com and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com all listed Heyward as baseball's top prospect in 2010 season previews. In 2007, he was regarded as the top prospect in the Braves minor league system, according to Baseball America, being listed by the publication as the organization's best power hitter and having the best strike zone discipline in the system.
Heyward was born in Ridgewood, New Jersey but moved to Georgia soon after he was born. Heyward went to Henry County High School. He was selected 14th overall by Atlanta in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft, and signed a deal worth $1.7 million – $170,000 more than MLB's slot recommendation of $1.53 million, and the same as the 2006 14th-slot amount that the Toronto Blue Jays gave Travis Snider on August 12, 2007.
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Jason Varitek
Jason Andrew Varitek ( /ˈværɨtɛk/; born April 11, 1972) is a former American professional baseball catcher. After being traded as a minor league prospect by the Seattle Mariners, Varitek played his entire major league career for the Boston Red Sox. A three-time All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner at catcher, and a Silver Slugger Award winner, Varitek was part of both the 2004 World Series and 2007 World Series Championship teams. In December 2004 he was named the captain of the Red Sox, only their fourth captain since 1923. He is a switch-hitter.
Varitek is one of only two players in the history of the sport to have played in the World Championship game of the Little League World Series, in the National Championship game of the College World Series, and in the Major League World Series (Ed Vosberg is the other). Varitek stands alone as the only baseball player in history to have played in the three aforementioned World Series along with playing in either the Olympic Baseball team or in the World Baseball Classic (he actually played in both the Olympics and the World Baseball Classic). His Lake Brantley High School baseball team won the Florida State Championship his senior year in 1990 and was named the number one high school baseball team in the nation by a USA Today poll. Varitek has caught an MLB-record four no-hitters. He has allowed 992 stolen bases, more than any active major league catcher.
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Jay Bruce
Jay Allen Bruce (born April 3, 1987, from Beaumont, Texas) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds. He was selected 12th overall in the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft.
He bats and throws left-handed. He has been listed as a top prospect in both his league and as an outfielder overall. He is nicknamed Bruce Almighty.
Bruce attended West Brook High School in Beaumont, TX where he was selected as a third-team High School All-American. He was drafted 12th in the first round of the 2005 MLB Amateur draft.
Bruce's professional career began in 2005 in the GCL, playing for the Reds' lowest rookie team. He hit .270 in 37 games before moving on to the Reds' rookie affiliate Billings Mustangs. There he hit for a .257 batting average with 4 home runs and 13 RBI.
In 2006, he was bumped to the Reds' Low-A affiliate Dayton Dragons, where he excelled with a .291 average and 16 home runs, placing him in many top prospect lists. For the 2007 season, Bruce was placed with the Reds' high-A team, the Sarasota Reds, then quickly promoted to the Reds' Double-A team, the Chattanooga Lookouts. He was selected to the 2007 All-Star Futures Game. Bruce was then promoted to the Reds' Triple-A club, the Louisville Bats, where he ended the season by winning Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award.
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Jayson Nix
Jayson Truitt Edward Nix (born August 26, 1982) is an American professional baseball utility player for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. His older brother, Laynce Nix, is an outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Nix was born in Dallas, Texas, and still makes his offseason home there. He attended Midland High School in Midland, Texas. He is the younger brother of Laynce Nix, who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies.
The Colorado Rockies selected Nix as a sandwich pick (44th overall) between the first and second rounds of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft as compensation for not signing their first round pick in the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft (Matt Harrington).
Nix began the 2008 season as the Colorado Rockies starting second baseman but over the next month, he saw his playing time diminish. On April 26, 2008, Nix was designated for assignment. He had played in 17 games and batted .111 with no home runs. On April 30 he cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A.
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Jeff Conine
Jeffrey Guy Conine ( /ˈkoʊnaɪn/; born June 27, 1966 in Tacoma, Washington) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman/outfielder who played several years with the Florida Marlins. Previously, Conine played with the Kansas City Royals (1990, 1992, 1998), Florida Marlins (1993-1997, 2003-2005), Baltimore Orioles (1999-2003, 2006), Philadelphia Phillies (2006), Cincinnati Reds (2007), and New York Mets (2007). He batted and threw right-handed. He became well known as Niner and Mr. Marlin for his significant history as a Marlins player and ties to South Florida. He has also been called "The Barbarian" (after "Conan the Barbarian").
A graduate from UCLA, Conine started his major league career with the Kansas City Royals and was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 1993 expansion draft. After a second stint with Kansas City and five seasons with Baltimore, he returned to the Marlins in the 2003 midseason.
In 1994, Conine hit a career high .319 batting average with 18 home runs and 82 RBI and made the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, but his most productive season came in 1995, when he posted a career high 105 RBI with a .302 average and 25 home runs. That season, he was named the All-Star Game MVP after hitting a pinch-hit homer to win the game.
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Jeff Francis
Jeffrey William Francis (born January 8, 1981, in North Delta, British Columbia) is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball.
Francis attended Burnsview Junior Secondary School and North Delta Senior Secondary School in North Delta, British Columbia. After playing for the North Delta Blue Jays of the B.C. Premier Baseball League, the highest calibre junior league in Canada, Francis went on to pursue a major in physics at the University of British Columbia while playing for the UBC Thunderbirds. He was selected in the 1st round (9th pick overall) by the Colorado Rockies in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. Along with Adam Loewen, who was selected at fourth overall in the same draft, the two received much publicity as they were drafted higher than any other Canadian baseball players up to that time.[citation needed] Francis was signed by Greg Hopkins.
In 2004, Francis was named Minor League Player of the Year by both Baseball America and USA Today, becoming the first player in Colorado Rockies organizational history to win either of the awards. He became the fourth different player to be honored in the same season by both publications, joining Andruw Jones (1995–1996), Rick Ankiel (1999), and Josh Beckett (2001). Combined between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Colorado Springs, Francis went 16–3 with a 2.21 ERA and .194 average against in 24 starts. He struck out 196 batters in 154.2 innings pitched, for a ratio of 11.4 per nine innings. He had more strikeouts than hits (108) and walks (29) combined.
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Jeff Francoeur
Jeffrey Braden Francoeur ( /fræŋˈkʊər/; born January 8, 1984 in Atlanta, Georgia), nicknamed "Frenchy", is a Major League Baseball right fielder who now plays for the Kansas City Royals. Francoeur is notable for his strong throwing arm in the outfield and his free-swinging tendencies in the batter's box.
Francoeur was selected by the Braves in the first round of the June 2002 amateur draft. After the draft, Francoeur was assigned to the team’s advanced Rookie League club in Danville, Virginia, where he played 38 games and hit .327 with eight homers and 31 RBIs. Francoeur advanced steadily through the Braves minor league system, playing for Rome (Low A) in 2003, Myrtle Beach (High A) and Greenville (former AA) in 2004, and Mississippi (AA) in 2005.
Francoeur was a member of the Rome Braves inaugural season team which went on to win the 2003 South Atlantic League Championship. He led that team in home runs with 14.
In 2004, Francoeur was named the top prospect in the Braves organization by Baseball America. He was a member of the Carolina League regular season and postseason All-Star team. In 2005, he was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game before getting called up by Atlanta.
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Jeff Kent
Jeffrey Franklin Kent (born March 7, 1968) is a retired Major League Baseball second baseman. Kent won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 2000 with the San Francisco Giants, and is the all-time leader in home runs among second basemen. He drove in 90 or more runs from 1997 to 2005, a streak of run production unprecedented for a second baseman, a position typically known for its defense. Kent is a five-time All-Star and his 560 career doubles put him tied for 21st on the all-time doubles list.
Born in Bellflower, California, Kent graduated from Edison High School in Huntington Beach, California. Kent played at UC Berkeley prior to being drafted in the 20th round of the 1989 amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. Prior to attending college, Kent had a serious run-in with his Edison High School baseball coach; he was removed from the team as a result.[citation needed]
After four seasons in the minor leagues, Kent was invited to spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1992 and made the opening day roster. He made his debut on April 12 against the Baltimore Orioles and recorded his first career hit (a double) in the 6th inning against Jose Mesa. He hit his first home run on April 14 against New York Yankees pitcher Lee Guetterman. He saw limited at-bats early in the season; however, an injury to starting third baseman Kelly Gruber granted Kent a more regular role in the line-up.
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Jeff Marquez
Jeffrey Joseph Marquez (born August 10, 1984 in Vacaville, California) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball.
Marquez attended Sacramento City College before being chosen by the New York Yankees in the supplemental round as the 41st overall pick of 2004 Major League Baseball draft. Marquez was a compensation pick for losing David Wells to the San Diego Padres.
In 2005, Marquez played for the Single-A Charleston RiverDogs. Making a team leading 27 starts, he went 9-13 with an ERA of 3.42. Marquez was second on the team to Chase Wright in wins (9), innings pitched (139 2⁄3), and strikeouts (107).
In 2007, Marquez played for the Double-A Trenton Thunder and was an Eastern League midseason All-Star for the team that year. Marquez went 15-9 with a 3.65 ERA for the Thunder. He led the league with 15 wins, was tied with 27 starts, was tied for second in innings pitched (155 1/3), tied for third in complete games (2), and was tenth in ERA (3.65).
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Jeffrey Hammonds
Jeffrey Bryan Hammonds (born March 5, 1971 in Plainfield, New Jersey) is a retired American professional baseball player. Hammonds was an outfielder and played for the Baltimore Orioles (1993–1998), Cincinnati Reds (1998–1999), Colorado Rockies (2000), Milwaukee Brewers (2001–2003), San Francisco Giants (2003–2004) and the Washington Nationals (2005) in Major League Baseball (MLB). Before playing professionally, Hammonds played for Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey and Stanford University.
At Stanford, Hammonds was named an All-American. The Orioles selected Hammonds with the fourth overall selection of the 1992 MLB Draft. Though he was seen as one of the best prospects in baseball, injuries limited his performance with Baltimore. After he was traded to Cincinnati and then to Colorado, he emerged with the Rockies in 2000, and was selected to appear at the 2000 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. He signed a three-year, $21.75 million contract with the Milwaukee Brewers that off-season, but continued to struggle with injuries. He had a resurgence with the Giants in 2003, after he was released by the Brewers, but struggled with the Giants in 2004 and Nationals in 2005 before retiring.
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Jeffrey Maier
Jeffrey "Jeff" Maier (born September 24, 1984) is an American baseball fan best known for an incident in which he was involved as a twelve-year-old at a baseball game, when he deflected a batted ball in-play into the Yankee Stadium stands during Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles. His action altered the course of Game 1, as the resulting home run allowed the Yankees to tie the score. They would go on to win the game and the series, four games to one.
On October 9, 1996, the Yankees trailed the Orioles 4–3 in the bottom of the eighth inning when shortstop Derek Jeter hit a deep fly ball to right field. Right fielder Tony Tarasco moved near the fence and appeared "to draw a bead on the ball" when the then-12-year-old Maier reached over the fence separating the stands and the field of play 9 feet below and deflected the ball into the stands. While baseball fans are permitted to catch (and keep) balls hit into the stands, if "a spectator reaches out of the stands, or goes on the playing field, and touches a live ball"spectator interference is to be called.
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Jeremy Giambi
Jeremy Dean Giambi ( /dʒiˈɑːmbi/; born September 30, 1974 in San Jose, California) is a left-handed, former Major League Baseball player for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, and Boston Red Sox. He also played in the minors for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. He is the younger brother of Colorado Rockies first baseman Jason Giambi.
Like his older brother Jason, Jeremy Giambi attended South Hills High School ,Sierra Vista Middle School in Covina, California, and Covina Elementary School in Covina, California. He attended Cal State Fullerton and was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 6th round of the 1996 amateur draft.
He was mentioned in the book, Moneyball, as one of the replacement players for his older brother, Jason Giambi. Despite his off field troubles, Jeremy was looked at by Billy Beane, because of his plate discipline. However, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2002, because the Athletics did not want to deal with his locker room distractions.
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Jeremy Guthrie
Jeremy Shane Guthrie (born April 8, 1979, in Roseburg, Oregon) is a Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher for the Colorado Rockies.
Guthrie was born in Roseburg, Oregon and grew up in Ashland, Oregon. As a youth, he attained the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts of America. Guthrie attended Ashland High School, where he excelled in basketball, football, baseball, as well as the classroom, where he was class valedictorian. After high school, he attended Brigham Young University before transferring to Stanford University, where he was a starting pitcher on their baseball team.
Guthrie was the ace of the Stanford University staff and formed a battery with Ryan Garko. He pitched in the regionals that season against MAAC champion Marist College in the first game and won 5-3. His team made it all the way to the World Series final in Omaha, but lost 11-1 in the Championship to the Miami Hurricanes.
Guthrie was the first-round selection (22nd overall) of the Cleveland Indians in the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. He signed with the Indians on October 3, 2002. His US $4 million contract for four years included a US $3 million signing bonus.
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Jeremy Hellickson
Jeremy Robert Hellickson (born April 8, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa and attended Hoover High School. Following the 2011 season, Hellickson was named American League Rookie of the Year.
Hellickson was drafted by Tampa Bay in the 4th round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft. Baseball America rated him as the 18th best prospect in all of baseball going into the 2010 season. He was selected to play in the 2010 All-Star Futures Game and was the starting pitcher for U.S. team.
On August 2, 2010, Hellickson made his major league debut against Minnesota Twins. During his debut, he held the Twins to two runs over seven innings. He struck out six while walking two. He was optioned back to Triple-A Durham after the start. He was once again recalled to the majors on August 10 to take the spot of Wade Davis in the rotation. He made his second career start that day against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, earning his second career victory after pitching seven shutout innings with three hits, seven strikeouts and no walks as the Rays won 8–0.
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Jermaine Dye
Jermaine Trevell Dye (born January 28, 1974) is a retired American Major League Baseball right fielder and designated hitter. Dye played with the Atlanta Braves (1996), Kansas City Royals (1997–2001), Oakland Athletics (2001–2004), and the Chicago White Sox (2005–2009). Dye won the World Series MVP with the White Sox in 2005. Dye batted and threw right-handed and, in his prime, was known for his ability to hit for power and his powerful throwing arm. Dye announced his retirement on March 31, 2011.
He attended Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville, California and Cosumnes River College in Sacramento. He was selected by Atlanta in the 17th round of the 1993 amateur draft. Dye made his Major League debut with the Braves, hitting a home run in his first Major League at-bat. He was traded to the Royals during the 1997 offseason in a package that brought Michael Tucker and Keith Lockhart to Atlanta.
He was traded to Kansas City on March 27, 1997. In 1999 Dye played in 158 games for the Royals, hitting 26 home runs. He was one of the more well-liked Royals at that time, with fans frequently chanting "Dye-no-mite" after he came up to bat. The next year he made the American League All-Star team.
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Jerry Coleman
Gerald Francis "Jerry" Coleman (born September 14, 1924) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman for the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year. Currently, he is an analyst and former play-by-play radio announcer for the San Diego Padres. Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 1949 by Associated Press, and was an All-Star in 1950 and later that year was named the World Series most valuable player. His Yankees teams appeared in six World Series in his career, winning four times. Coleman served in the Korean War and World War II. He later became a broadcaster, and he was honored in 2005 by the National Baseball Hall of Fame with the Ford C. Frick Award for his broadcasting contributions.
Born in San Jose, California, Coleman graduated from Lowell High School, then spent his entire playing career with the New York Yankees. He played 6 years in their minor league system before reaching the big club in 1949. Coleman hit .275 in his first year and led all second basemen in fielding percentage. He was the Associated Press' rookie of the year in 1949, and finishing third in balloting by Baseball Writers Association of America.
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Jerry Lucas
Jerry Ray Lucas (born March 30, 1940) is a former basketball player who played from the 1950s to the 1970s. He is now a memory education expert. In 1996, the NBA's 50th anniversary, he was named one of the 50 greatest players in National Basketball Association history. He was named to Sports Illustrated's five-man College All-Century Team in 1999.
Lucas was born in Middletown, Ohio, then a community of 30,000+ halfway between Dayton and Cincinnati, that in the 1940s and 1950s boasted one of the most respected high school basketball programs in the United States. Greatly encouraged, Lucas began pouring hours each day into the town's game during his early teens.
Lucas had become a local playground legend by age 15, in Sunset Park. Sunset Park was then a regional summer hotbed for high school, college and even some pro players. Future Cincinnati Royals teammates Wayne Embry and Oscar Robertson were visitors there. Lucas was already at almost his full-grown height of 6 ft 8 in (2.06 m) by age 15, out-playing college players with his advanced game.
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Jessica Biel
Jessica Claire Biel (born March 3, 1982) is an American actress, model, and singer. Biel is known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven.
Jessica Claire Biel was born in Ely, Minnesota. Her mother, Kimberly (née Conroe), is a homemaker and spiritual healer. Her father, Jonathan Biel, worked for GE and was also an entrepreneur and business consultant. She is of German, French, English, and Choctaw ancestry and has a younger brother, Justin, born in 1985. Biel's family moved frequently during her childhood, living in Texas, Connecticut, and Woodstock, Illinois, before finally settling in Boulder, Colorado. While growing up, Biel played soccer and also trained as a gymnast. From 2000 to 2002, she attended Tufts University.
Biel initially trained to be a vocalist. At age nine, she appeared in several musical productions in her hometown, playing lead roles in productions such as Annie, The Sound of Music, and Beauty and the Beast. Biel auditioned for the a cappella choir the Tufts Amalgamates, but was not accepted.
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Jim Fregosi
James Louis Fregosi (born April 4, 1942) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and manager. During an 18-year baseball career, he played from 1961–1978 for four different teams, primarily the Los Angeles and California Angels. In that franchise's first eleven years of play, he became its first star as the team's most productive and popular player. He led the American League (AL) in double plays twice, winning the 1967 Gold Glove Award, and upon leaving the team ranked ninth in AL history with 818 double plays. He holds the franchise record with 70 career triples; several of his other team records, including career games (1,429), hits (1,408), doubles (219), runs (691) and runs batted in (546), were broken by Brian Downing between 1986 and 1989. He returned to the team as manager, guiding it to its first-ever postseason appearance in 1979, and later managed the Philadelphia Phillies to the 1993 National League pennant.
He is currently the top advance scout for the Atlanta Braves.
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Jim Leyritz
James Joseph Leyritz (born December 27, 1963 in Lakewood, Ohio) is a former catcher and infielder in Major League Baseball.
Leyritz attended Turpin High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, Middle Georgia Jr. College (Cochran, GA) and the University of Kentucky.
After playing the 1985 season for the Kentucky Wildcats, Leyritz went undrafted by Major League Baseball, but was signed as a free agent by the New York Yankees. Leyritz played for the Yankees (1990–1996, 1999–2000), with whom he debuted on June 8, 1990. He played for the Anaheim Angels (1997), Texas Rangers (1997), Boston Red Sox (1998), San Diego Padres (1998) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2000), pinch-hitting more extensively toward the end of his career. He batted and threw right-handed exclusively in the majors, but was known to switch-hit in the minor leagues. He is best known for his 3-run home run off Atlanta Braves closer Mark Wohlers in Game 4 of the 1996 World Series. That home run was significant, as the momentum from then on shifted towards the Yankees. "The King" is also known for hitting the last home run of the 1990s, in Game 4 of the 1999 World Series.
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Jim Lyttle
James Lawrence Lyttle Jr. (born May 20, 1946) is a former major league baseball player from Hamilton, Ohio. He played as an outfielder for the New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox, Montreal Expos, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He also played seven seasons of baseball in Japan with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp and Nankai Hawks.
Lyttle graduated from Florida State University, and was drafted in the first round of the 1966 amateur draft by the New York Yankees. He made his major league debut with the Yankees in 1969, and recorded a .310 batting average in 87 games in 1970. He was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1971, and played in 42 games as a defensive backup with the White Sox before being sent off to various teams from 1973 to 1974. He spent three years with the Montreal Expos, and ended his major league career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1976.
He signed with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in the Japanese Central League in 1977, and immediately became a vital part of the team in his first year, playing right field, and batting cleanup along with Koji Yamamoto and Sachio Kinugasa. The Carp won consecutive league championships from 1979 to 1980, and Lyttle contributed immensely to the team's Japan Series victory over the Kintetsu Buffaloes, where he was awarded the series MVP award. His strong arm won him the outfield Japanese golden glove award four years in a row from 1978, and he played his best season in 1981, leading the league in hits while slugging 33 home runs and 100 RBIs, with a .318 batting average. He also played in 472 consecutive games until 1981. He played six total seasons with the Carp; the longest of any non-Japanese player, and is regarded as the best non-Japanese player ever to play for the team. He spent the 1983 season with the Nankai Hawks before retiring.
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Jim Ryun
James Ronald ("Jim") Ryun (born April 29, 1947) is an American former track athlete and politician, who was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1996 to 2007, representing the 2nd District in Kansas. In the 2006 election, Ryun was defeated by Democratic challenger Nancy Boyda. In the Kansas Republican primary on August 5, 2008, he was defeated by Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Jenkins.
Years prior to his political career, Ryun had an athletic career that saw him become a world-class runner and the last American to hold the world record in the mile run. His career was highlighted by many world record times and a silver medal in the 1500 m at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.
In 1966, at age nineteen, Ryun set world records in the mile and the half-mile runs, and received Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award, as well as the James E. Sullivan Award as the nation's top amateur athlete, the ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year, and was voted Track & Field News' Athlete of the Year as the world’s best track & field athlete. Ironically, Ryun did all of this before he was permitted to run for the school he attended, University of Kansas, since NCAA rules at the time did not allow freshmen to compete in NCAA competition. In 1967 Ryun ran a world record in the indoor half mile (1:48.3) and outdoors lowered his world-record time in the mile from 3:51.3 to 3:51.1, a record that stood for almost eight years. That same year he set the world record for the 1500 meters in 3:33.1, running his last lap in a blazing 53.3 seconds and his final 1,200 meters in an amazing 2:46.6.
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Jim Thome
James Howard "Jim" Thome ( /ˈtoʊmeɪ/; born August 27, 1970 in Peoria, Illinois) is a Major League Baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is the eighth MLB player to hit 600 home runs.
Thome was originally drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 13th round of the 1989 Major League Baseball Draft. While in the minors, he got into a fight with future Major League star Chipper Jones. Thome and Jones would later become good friends. Thome made his Major League debut on September 4, 1991 as a third baseman against the Minnesota Twins. He was 2 for 4 in that game, with his first hit coming off pitcher Tom Edens in the fourth inning. He hit his first career home run on October 4 against New York Yankees pitcher Steve Farr.
Originally a third baseman, he was shifted to first base when the Indians traded for Matt Williams in 1997.
At the plate, Thome hit 25 home runs and 73 runs batted in with a .314 batting average in 1995. Thome then hit 38 home runs in 1996 and 40 in 1997. Thome soon became a prolific home run hitter, once hitting a 511-foot (156 m) shot at Cleveland's Jacobs Field. It is the longest home run ever recorded at a Cleveland ballpark. He hit 49 home runs with the Indians in 2001, followed by a career-high 52 homers in 2002.
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Jimmy Key
James Edward "Jimmy" Key (born April 22, 1961) is a former left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Toronto Blue Jays (1984–1992), New York Yankees (1993–1996), and Baltimore Orioles (1997–1998). His best personal years were in 1987, when he posted a 17–8 record with a league-leading 2.76 ERA, and in 1993, when he went 18–6 with a 3.00 ERA and 173 strikeouts.
Key was an outstanding baseball player at S. R. Butler High School in Huntsville, Alabama. He compiled a 10–0 record, and had nine shutouts and a 0.30 ERA in his senior year. Key was also an excellent hitter, batting .410 with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs in his high school career.
Key attended Clemson University, where he played college baseball for the Clemson Tigers baseball team in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). At Clemson, Key posted a 9–3 record and 2.79 ERA on the mound, and batted .300 with 21 doubles. Key is the only Clemson player to be a member of the first-team All-ACC in two positions (pitcher and DH) in 1982. He pitched the opening game of the 1980 College World Series.
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Jimmy Rollins
James Calvin "Jimmy" Rollins (born November 27, 1978 in Oakland, California), nicknamed "J-Roll", is an All-Star and former MVP shortstop, who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball's National League.
Though Rollins has developed into a five-tool player during his career due to significant increases in his power hitting, he is perhaps best known for his baserunning skills. He stole at least 20 bases every season from 2001 to 2009, with a career high of 47 in 2008. In this respect, Rollins emulates his childhood baseball hero, Rickey Henderson.
Rollins comes from an athletic family. He grew up watching his mother play competitive fastpitch softball, and credits the experience for helping him develop a cerebral approach to the game; he has been described as having "a near-photographic memory of games and at-bats and pitches".
Rollins also attended the same high school (Encinal High School) as pitcher Dontrelle Willis, and appeared in several MC Hammer videos in the late 80s. Currently, he is a resident of Woolwich Township, New Jersey, and is married to Johari Smith, his former trainer. They were married on January 23, 2010 in the Cayman Islands. On May 21, 2012, Johari gave birth to the couple's first daughter, Camryn Drew Rollins.
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Joba Chamberlain
Justin Louis "Joba" Chamberlain ( /ˈdʒɒbə/ JOB-ə; born Justin Louis Heath; September 23, 1985) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees.
Chamberlain was born and grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. Chamberlain's parents, Harlan Chamberlain and Jackie Standley, were never married and split up when Joba was 18 months old. Some sources say that Harlan obtained full custody of Joba when Joba was 3 years old, but Standley claims that Joba lived with her most of the time until Joba was 10 when she had Joba's surname legally changed from Heath, her maiden name, to Chamberlain. Standley began abusing drugs when Joba was 4 or 5 and says that she and Joba currently speak to each other only rarely.
Chamberlain's father was born on the Winnebago Indian Reservation, but had to leave to be treated for polio. Harlan spent his childhood in hospitals and foster homes and now uses a motor scooter (which he has named "Humphrey") to get around. Now retired from his job as a supervisor at the state penitentiary, he works as a substitute teacher and takes tickets at University of Nebraska Cornhuskers' games. Chamberlain still has family living on American Indian reservations. As of 2008, he was one of only three active non-Hispanic Native American players in Major League Baseball, with the others being Kyle Lohse of the St. Louis Cardinals and Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox.
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Joe Charboneau
Joseph Charboneau (born June 17, 1955 in Belvidere, Illinois) was a Major League Baseball player for the Cleveland Indians and is one of the most oft-cited examples of a flash in the pan or baseball's fabled sophomore jinx.
The 21-year-old Charboneau was originally drafted in the sixth round of the June 1976 draft by the Minnesota Twins, but he did not sign with them; when the Philadelphia Phillies made him their second-round pick in the December supplementary draft, Joe was sent to the Class A Western Carolina League, where he hit .298 in 43 games. In 1977, however, he suddenly quit the Phillies' Carolina League affiliate after fighting with management, and went home to Belvidere to play softball. The following year, Minnesota, the team that originally drafted Charboneau, gave him another chance and assigned him to Visalia of the California League; he responded with a .350 average, fourth-best in the league. At season's end, though, after participating in a barroom brawl, Joe was traded to the Cleveland Indians organization for major-league pitcher Cardell Camper.
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Joe Girardi
Joseph Elliott Girardi (born October 14, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and current manager of the New York Yankees. During a 15-year playing career, he played from 1989–2003 for the Chicago Cubs, the Colorado Rockies, the New York Yankees, and St. Louis Cardinals. He also previously managed the Florida Marlins in 2006, where he was named National League Manager of the Year.
Girardi, was born in Peoria, Illinois, and is a native of East Peoria, Illinois, he attended East Peoria's Neil Armstrong grade school, and Peoria's Sacred Heart/Father Sweeney where he was coached in basketball by his father. He then attended Academy of Our Lady/Spalding Institute in Peoria, Illinois, where he played quarterback for the football team (coached by Tommy Kahn) and catcher for the baseball team (coached by David Lang). He went on to play baseball at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering. He was the first freshman to be elected president of a fraternity (Alpha Tau Omega) at Northwestern.[citation needed]
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Joe Mauer
Joseph Patrick Mauer (born April 19, 1983) is an American baseball catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins. He is the only catcher in MLB history to win three batting titles. He also won three consecutive Gold Glove awards (2008–2010), and the 2009 American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award.
Joe Mauer played football, basketball, and baseball for Saint Paul's Cretin-Derham Hall Raiders, the high school of Paul Molitor, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. In his senior year he became the only athlete ever to be selected as the USA Today High School Player of the Year in two sports (football in 2000 as a quarterback and baseball in 2001 as a catcher).
In December 2009, Sports Illustrated magazine included Mauer in its article on ten "signature" moments in U.S. high-school sports in the 2000–2009 decade, referring to his selection by the Minnesota Twins as the first pick in the 2001 amateur draft.
Mauer attended the same high school as Baseball Hall of Famer and former Milwaukee Brewer Paul Molitor. Molitor has said that Mauer "has the best swing he had ever seen". Jim O'Neill, Mauer's baseball coach at Cretin-Derham Hall, said his former student "has been groomed for this job since he was a little boy. Mauer's dad, Jake, created a contraption for Joe he later named the 'Quickswing'. The device dropped balls down a tube from eye level and released them at waist level." Mauer had been asked to leave his T-ball league at the age of four, because he was hitting the ball too hard for the other players. "Another guy that came from Cretin-Derham Hall, Paul Molitor, was very similar, [and] had a good short swing," O'Neill said. "And they're both able to wait on the ball so long because they don't have the big swing. Like anything, you keep simple and keep it small or short, there's not a lot of holes in it and not a lot of room for errors."
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Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. (born June 11, 1956), nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired professional football player, a hall of fame quarterback with the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with San Francisco, where he played for the next 14 seasons. Traded before the 1993 season, he spent his final two years in the league with Kansas City. While a member of the 49ers, Montana started in four Super Bowl games and won all of them. Montana was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, his first year of eligibility.
In 1989, and again in 1990, the Associated Press named Montana the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP), and Sports Illustrated magazine named Montana the 1990 "Sportsman of the Year". Four years earlier, in 1986, Montana won the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. Montana was elected to eight Pro Bowls, as well as being voted 1st team All-Pro by the AP in 1987, 1989, and 1990. Montana had the highest passer rating in the National Football Conference (NFC) five times (1981, 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1989); and, in both 1987 and 1989, Montana had the highest passer rating in the entire NFL.
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Joe Morgan
Joe Leonard Morgan (born September 19, 1943) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, and Oakland Athletics from 1963 to 1984. He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the National League Most Valuable Player in those years. Considered one of the greatest second basemen of all-time, Morgan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. He became a baseball broadcaster for ESPN after his retirement, and now hosts a weekly nationally syndicated radio show for Sports USA. Joe Morgan is also a special adviser to the Cincinnati Reds.
Raised in Oakland, California, and nicknamed "Little Joe" for his diminutive 5'7" stature, Morgan was a standout at Castlemont High School before being signed by the Houston Colt .45's as an amateur free agent in 1962. Early in his career, he had trouble with his swing because he kept his back elbow down too low. Teammate Nellie Fox suggested to Joe that while at the plate he should flap his back arm like a chicken to keep his elbow up. Morgan followed the advice, and his flapping arm became a familiar sight to baseball fans.
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Joe Nathan
Joseph Michael Nathan (born November 22, 1974) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nathan started out his baseball career as a shortstop in high school but converted to a pitcher after being drafted by the San Francisco Giants. He worked his way through the minor leagues, alternating between spots in the rotation and the bullpen. After a few years of splitting time between the majors and the minors, Nathan had a breakout season as a setup man for the Giants in 2003. That off-season, Nathan was traded to the Twins and became their closer.
From 2004 to 2009, Nathan was considered one of the top closers in MLB with four All-Star appearances and a league-leading 246 saves. In 2010, Nathan underwent Tommy John surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow and missed the entire season. On April 3, 2011, Nathan recorded his first save since his injury against the Toronto Blue Jays. On July 16, 2011, Nathan regained his role as closer. On August 10, 2011, Nathan became the Twins all-time leader in saves with 255 in a game against the Boston Red Sox. He signed with the Texas Rangers on November 21, 2011.
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Joe Page
Joseph Francis Page (October 28, 1917 – April 21, 1980), nicknamed Fireman and The Gay Reliever, was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher. Page, who was left-handed, played with the New York Yankees from 1944 to 1950 and with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1954.
Page was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1940. After spending time in the Yankees farm system, Page made his Major League Baseball debut on April 19, 1944 where he began his career as a starter.
In his rookie season (starting 16 games, and relieving in three others), Page was voted to play in the All-Star Game and ended his season with over 100 innings pitched and a 4.56 ERA. The next season, Page suffered a shoulder injury, which led him to start only nine of the twenty games he pitched. That season, Page improved his ERA to 2.82, along with a 6–3 record.
In 1946, Page split his time between closing and starting games, and he picked up three saves while posting a 3.57 ERA and a 9–8 record. In 1947, Page spent practically the whole season in the bullpen and only started twice. He was voted to play in the All-Star Game once again, because of his 2.48 ERA and a 14–8 record. He also led the American League with 17 saves this season. (Note that the save statistic was not an official baseball statistic until 1969, and had not even entered common usage until well after Page did this; this feat is something that is only retroactively appreciated. However, it was certainly appreciated at the time that Page played a greater than average role as the Yankees relief pitcher, at a time when there was no generally acknowledged "closing pitcher" role in baseball, and when starting pitchers were more often expected to finish complete games.)
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Joe Paterno
Joseph Vincent "Joe" Paterno (pronounced /pəˈtɜrnoʊ/; December 21, 1926 – January 22, 2012), often referred to as "JoePa", was an American college football coach who was the head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions for nearly 46 years, from 1966 through 2011. At the time of his death he held the record for the most victories by an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) football coach with 409 and was the only FBS coach to reach 400 victories. He coached five undefeated teams that won major bowl games and, in 2007, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach. Despite his achievements as a coach, Paterno's career ended abruptly in 2011 after he was fired for his "failure of leadership" in the child sex abuse scandal surrounding his former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.
Paterno was born in Brooklyn, New York and attended Brown University, where he played football both as the quarterback and a cornerback. Originally planning to be a lawyer, he instead signed on as an assistant football coach at Penn State in 1950, persuaded by his college coach Rip Engle who had taken over as Penn State's head coach. Sixteen years later, in 1966, Paterno was named as Engle's successor. Before long, he had coached the team to two undefeated regular seasons in 1968 and 1969. He went on to win two national championships—in 1982 and again in 1986. In all, he led the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl appearances with 24 wins all while turning down offers to coach NFL teams, including the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots. Paterno became the winningest coach in Division I history on October 29, 2011.
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Joe Torre
Joseph Paul Torre ( /ˈtɔri/; born July 18, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. A nine-time All-Star, he played in Major League Baseball as a catcher, first baseman and a third baseman for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, and the St. Louis Cardinals. After his retirement as a player, he later managed all three teams.
Torre managed the New York Yankees from 1996 to 2007. The Yankees reached the post season each year and won ten American League East Division titles, six American League pennants, four World Series titles, and compiled a .605 winning percentage overall. With 2,326 wins, he is currently ranked 5th on the list of Major League Baseball all-time managerial wins.
Torre followed in his brother Frank's footsteps when he was signed by the Milwaukee Braves as an amateur free agent in 1960. In his first season in the minor leagues with the Class A Eau Claire Braves, he won the 1960 Northern League batting championship with a .344 batting average. Torre made his major league debut late in the season on September 21, 1960. He was assigned to the Triple A Louisville Colonels for the 1961 season where, the Braves had planned to groom him as the eventual successor to their All-Star catcher, Del Crandall. However, those plans were changed when Crandall injured his throwing arm in May 1961, forcing the Braves to promote Torre to the major leagues with just over a year of minor league experience. Torre rose to the occasion, hitting for a .278 batting average with 21 doubles and 10 home runs. He finished the season ranked second to Billy Williams in the 1961 National League Rookie of the Year voting.
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Joel Hanrahan
Joel Ryan Hanrahan (born October 6, 1981 in Des Moines, Iowa), nicknamed The Hammer, is a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
After graduating Norwalk High School in Norwalk, Iowa, he turned down a scholarship to play baseball at the University of Nebraska and entered the June 2000 Major League Baseball Draft. At that time, he was ranked as the 70th-best prospect in the nation by Baseball America. He was drafted in the second round (#57) and signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In his first full season with Dodgers Triple-A affiliate, the Las Vegas 51s, Hanrahan went 7-7 with an Earned Run Average of 5.05 in 25 games. He ranked second on the club with 22 starts and third with 119.1 innings pitched. He batted .281 on the season and hit a home run on May 4 against Tucson and posted a 4.11 ERA at home and 6.39 mark on the road in the Pacific Coast League.
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Johann Olav Koss
Johann Olav Koss (born 29 October 1968) is a former speed skater from Norway, considered to be one of the best in history, and current assistant coach of Norway's speed skating team.
Johann Olav Koss was born in Drammen, Buskerud County, Norway. Johann Olav Koss became the Norwegian Junior Champion in 1987, but he could not compete with the world top skaters in the 1986 and 1987 World Junior Championships. In 1988, he debuted with the seniors at the World Championships in Alma-Ata, but failed to qualify for the final distance. The following year, he finished eighth in the same tournament (after a fifteenth place in the European Allround Championships), placing second on the 1,500 m. His breakthrough came in 1990, winning the World Allround Championships in Innsbruck, Austria. The following four years, he would win two more world titles (1991 and 1994), while finishing second in 1993 and third in 1992. He won the European Allround Championships in 1991 and finished second in the next three editions. Koss had a total of twenty-three World Cup wins, while winning four overall World Cup titles (the 1,500 m in 1990 and 1991, and the combined 5,000/10,000 m in 1991 and 1994).
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John Castino
John Anthony Castino (born October 23, 1954 in Evanston, Illinois) is a former Major League Baseball player. Castino played as an infielder, primarily at third base and second base, with the Minnesota Twins from 1979 through 1984.
Castino graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka. Castino attended and played baseball for Rollins College, located in Winter Park, Florida. He is considered the best player in Rollins history.
After college, Castino was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 1976 amateur draft. Castino made his major league debut with the Twins on April 6, 1979. He played well and ended the season with a .285 batting average and 112 hits in 148 games. His performance led him to be voted as Rookie of the Year, along with Alfredo Griffin, who he tied in voting.
The next season, Castino hit a career-high .302. A good fielder, he switched to second base in 1982 and led the league's second basemen in fielding percentage that year. However, Castino started to suffer from chronic back pain, and his career was cut short in 1984 by a fused disc in his back. He played his final game with the Twins on May 7, 1984.
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John Franco
John Anthony Franco (born September 17, 1960 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher. During a 21-year baseball career, He pitched from 1984-2005 for three different National League teams, the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, and Houston Astros. His 1,119 career games pitched is an NL record, and is ranked third in major league history; his 424 career saves ranked second in major league history when he retired, and remain the most by a left-hander. For 14 of his 20 seasons, he played for the New York Mets, serving as team captain in his final years with the team.
Franco grew up in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. His father, the late Jim Franco, was a New York City Department of Sanitation worker who encouraged his son's baseball aspirations; Franco honored his father by wearing an orange Sanitation Department work-shirt under his jersey. John graduated from Lafayette High School in Brooklyn and St. John's University in Queens, where he pitched two no-hitters in his freshman year.
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John Grabow
John William Grabow, nicknamed "Grabes" (born November 4, 1978, in Arcadia, California), is a Major League Baseball left-handed reliever.
Through 2009, he held opposing batters to a .218 batting average and a .293 slugging percentage when there were runners in scoring position. Also, from 2004–08, no lefty reliever in the National League made more appearances than Grabow. His 340 outings in that span ranked fourth in the majors.
Grabow grew up a Giants and Dodgers fan, playing first base and emulating Will Clark. He graduated from San Gabriel High School in California in 1997, where he pitched and was a 3-year letterman in baseball and named all-CIF (California Interscholastic Federation), as well as the league's MVP as a senior. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 3rd round of the 1997 amateur draft.
In 1998, Grabow suffered his most unusual injury when he went on the disabled list after being hit on the ear by a foul ball. He was sitting in the dugout and had just told somebody else, 'Heads up,' because the guy who was pitching "was throwing, like, 100 mph and it was a little, slappy leadoff hitter. Sure enough, the next pitch, he hit one into the dugout."
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John Smoltz
John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher and active sportscaster. He is best known for his prolific career of more than two decades with the Atlanta Braves, in which he garnered eight All-Star selections and received the Cy Young Award in 1996. Though predominantly known as a starting pitcher, Smoltz was converted to a reliever in 2001, following his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and spent four years as the team's closer before returning to a starting role. In 2002 he became only the second pitcher in history to have had both a 20-win season and a 50-save season (the other being Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley). He is the only pitcher in major league history to top both 200 wins and 150 saves. He became the 16th member of the 3,000 strikeout club on April 22, 2008 when he fanned Felipe Lopez of the Washington Nationals in the third inning in Atlanta.
Smoltz threw a four-seam fastball that was clocked as high as 98 miles per hour, a strong, effective slider, and an 88–91 mph split-finger fastball that he used as a strikeout pitch. He also mixed in a curveball and change-up on occasion, and in 1999, he began experimenting with both a knuckleball and a screwball, though he rarely used either in game situations.
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John Valentin
John William Valentin ( /ˈvælɨntɪn/; born February 18, 1967 in Mineola, New York) is a former shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played most of his major league career with the Boston Red Sox, with his final season being for the New York Mets. He batted and threw right-handed. He is currently the hitting coach of the Albuquerque Isotopes in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
Valentin attended Seton Hall University, where he played with another future Red Sox player, Mo Vaughn, before starting his professional career in the Red Sox minor league system in 1988. He first played in a major league game in 1992.
In 11 seasons with the Red Sox and Mets, Valentin had a .279 batting average, and accumulated a total of 1093 hits. He hit 124 career home runs, and had 558 runs batted in.
On July 8, 1994, Valentin turned the 10th unassisted triple play in MLB history, in a game against Seattle Mariners. In the 6th inning, Valentin playing shortstop, caught Marc Newfield's line drive, tagged second base before Mike Blowers could return to tag up, and tagged out Keith Mitchell who had been attempting to advance to second base.
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John Wetteland
John Karl Wetteland (born August 21, 1966) is a retired American Major League Baseball pitcher who specialized as a closer. During a 12-year career (from 1989–2000), he pitched for four different teams: the Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers.
Wetteland was signed by the Dodgers as their second choice in the June 1985 amateur draft (Secondary Phase). He was later claimed by the Detroit Tigers in December 1989 as a Rule 5 Draft pick, but was soon returned to the Dodgers. While playing in the Pacific Coast League, he garnered notice by earning 20 saves in 20 chances. He made his major league debut on May 31, 1989. After struggling with his first five starts in 1990, Wetteland asked to be switched to the bullpen, and became a full-time closer in 1992.
After the 1991 season, Wetteland was traded twice; first to the Cincinnati Reds for Eric Davis, and then to the Expos for Dave Martinez. On April 5, 1995 he was traded to the Yankees for Fernando Seguignol.
During the 1996 season, he led the American League in saves, totaling 43, and appeared in the All-Star Game. During the 1996 World Series, Wetteland had 4 saves and the Yankees won the World Series against the Atlanta Braves in 6 games. Wetteland was given the World Series MVP Award that year, recording the maximum four saves possible during the Series, tying the record for the most saves in a single postseason series, and setting a record for saves in the full postseason, with seven. He was awarded with the 1996 Rolaids Relief Man Award.
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John Wooden
John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period—seven in a row—as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games. He was named national coach of the year six times.
As a player, Wooden was the first to be named basketball All-American three times and he won a national championship at Purdue. Wooden was named a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame as a player (inducted in 1961) and as a coach (in 1973), the first person ever enshrined in both categories. Only Lenny Wilkens and Bill Sharman have since had the same honor.
He was one of the most revered coaches and was beloved by his former players, among them Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton. Wooden was renowned for his short, simple inspirational messages to his players, including his "Pyramid of Success". These often were directed at how to be a success in life as well as in basketball.
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Johnny Bench
Johnny Lee Bench (born December 7, 1947 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Bench, a 14-time All-Star selection and a two-time National League Most Valuable Player, was a key member of The Big Red Machine, which won six division titles, four National League pennants, and two World Series championships. ESPN has called him the greatest catcher in baseball history.
Bench played baseball and basketball and was class valedictorian at Binger High School in Binger, Oklahoma. He is one-eighth Native American (Choctaw). His father told him that the fastest route to becoming a major leaguer was as a catcher. Bench was drafted 36th overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the second round of the 1965 amateur draft, playing for the minor-league Buffalo Bisons in the 1966 and 1967 seasons before being called up to the Reds in August 1967. He hit only .163, but impressed many with his defense and strong throwing arm. Among them: Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Williams signed a baseball for him which predicted that the young catcher would be "A Hall of Famer for sure!" Williams' prediction eventually became fact with Johnny Bench's election to the Hall of Fame in 1989.
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Johnny Callison
John Wesley Callison (March 12, 1939 – October 12, 2006) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball, best known for his years with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1960 to 1969. He led the National League in triples twice and doubles once, and gained his greatest prominence in a 1964 season in which he was runnerup for the Most Valuable Player Award and was named MVP of the All-Star Game. He also led the NL in outfield assists four consecutive times and in double plays once, and ended his career among the top five Phillies in home runs (185) and triples (84).
Born in Qualls, Oklahoma, Callison batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was signed by the Chicago White Sox out of high school in 1957, being assigned to the Class-C Bakersfield Bears in the California League, where he batted .340 with 17 home runs and 31 stolen bases. The next season, he was advanced to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, where he led the American Association in home runs. In September 1958 he was recalled by Chicago, and hit .297 in 18 games.
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Johnny Damon
Johnny David Damon (born November 5, 1973) is an American professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter for the Cleveland Indians. In his Major League Baseball career, Damon has played for the Kansas City Royals (1995–2000), Oakland Athletics (2001), Boston Red Sox (2002–2005), New York Yankees (2006–2009), Detroit Tigers (2010), and Tampa Bay Rays (2011).
From 2000–2008, he was third among active players in runs (1,008) and seventh in hits (1,590) and stolen bases (392). He is currently second among active leaders in triples (109), one behind Carl Crawford. He is also fifth among active players in career hits with over 2,500.
Damon was born in Fort Riley, an army base in Kansas. His mother, Yome, is from Thailand, and his father, Jimmy, is American of Croatian descent. They met while his father, a Staff Sergeant in the United States Army, was stationed in Thailand. Damon spent much of his early childhood as an "army brat," moving to several bases from Okinawa, Japan, to West Germany before his father left the Army and settled the family in the Orlando area while Damon was still a pre-schooler.
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Johnny Mize
John Robert "Johnny" Mize (January 7, 1913 – June 2, 1993) was a baseball player who was a first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, and New York Yankees. He played in the Major Leagues for 15 seasons between 1936 and 1953, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
Mize was born in Demorest, Georgia, where he later played baseball for Piedmont College. Mize was known as both "Big Jawn" and "The Big Cat" for his smooth fielding at first base. He had a fine batting eye, and in his early career hit for high averages, leading the National League with a .349 batting average in 1939. In 1938 he batted .363, but Cardinals teammate Joe Medwick took the title with a .374 average. Mize then changed targets and went for power instead of batting average. He led the National League in home runs in 1939 with 28, and in 1940 with 43, also leading the league in runs batted in twice, in 1940 and 1942. At the end of the 1941 season, however, he was traded to the New York Giants by Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey, who famously believed in trading players before their skills began to decline.
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Johnny Podres
John Joseph Podres (September 30, 1932 – January 13, 2008) was an American left-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. He is perhaps best remembered for being named the Most Valuable Player of the 1955 World Series, pitching a shutout in Game 7 against the New York Yankees to help bring the Dodgers their first World Series title. He later led the National League in earned run average and shutouts in 1957, and in winning percentage in 1961.
Podres helped the Dodgers win World Series championships in 1955, 1959, 1963 and 1965, although he did not pitch in the 1965 World Series itself. After the Dodgers lost the first two games to the New York Yankees, Podres pitched a complete game, seven-hit victory on his 23rd birthday in Game 3. In the climactic Game 7, Podres pitched a 2–0 shutout to bring Brooklyn its only World Series championship. Podres was given the first-ever World Series MVP Award by Sport magazine and presented with a red two-seater Corvette. Later he was honored as the Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine.
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Jon Matlack
Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack (born January 19, 1950 in West Chester, Pennsylvania) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He was selected with fourth overall by the New York Mets in the 1967 Major League Baseball Draft.
Matlack compiled 1,023 strikeouts and a 3.03 earned run average as one of the "Big Three" pitchers the New York Mets were built around in the 1970s, along with Tom Seaver and Jerry Koosman. Unfortunately, the Mets were also a light hitting team at the time, and his 82-81 record is not nearly indicative of how well he pitched for the club.
Matlack's best minor league season was 1968, when he went 13-6 with a 2.76 ERA for the Raleigh-Durham Mets of the Carolina League. During his fifth season in the Mets' farm system, Matlack debuted with the Mets in the second game of a July 11, 1971 double header with the Cincinnati Reds. He pitched seven innings, and left the game with a 3-2 lead, however, Tug McGraw and Tom Seaver were unable to close the game. For the season, Matlack went 0-3 with a 4.14 ERA in seven appearances (six starts). His finest pitching performance was his last, when he gave up just one run in eight innings of work against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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Jon Rauch
Jon Erich Rauch (born September 27, 1978) is an American professional baseball pitcher currently with the New York Mets. At 6' 11" (2.11 m), he is the tallest player in Major League Baseball history. He is also an Olympic Gold Medalist.
Rauch attended and graduated from Oldham County High School. He grew up in Westport, Kentucky.
Rauch played baseball in college at Morehead State University, where he double majored in physics and business. He was also a member of the social fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon, KY Zeta Chapter.
Rauch, weighing at 290-lbs, was drafted in the third round of the 1999 amateur draft by the Chicago White Sox. He debuted with the White Sox on April 2, 2002.
In 2002, Rauch's first stint in the big leagues resulted in a 6.59 ERA in eight games and six starts. He did not play in the majors in 2003, then returned to the majors in 2004 after a strong Triple-A campaign. However, against major league batters he again posted a high ERA of 6.23. In July 2004, Rauch was traded to the Montréal Expos along with Triple-A reliever Gary Majewski for Carl Everett.
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Jonathan Broxton
Jonathan Roy Broxton (born June 16, 1984 in Augusta, Georgia) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball. He previously played with the Los Angeles Dodgers, serving as their primary closer from mid-2008 to mid-2010.
A prototypical fireballer, the 6'4", 295-pound Broxton features an overwhelming fastball as well as a slider.
Broxton attended Burke County High School in Waynesboro, GA. As a senior for the Bears, he posted a 9–2 record and a 1.21 earned run average as a pitcher.
He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2nd round in 2002 and signed with them on June 30, 2002.
In the minor leagues, from 2002 to 2006, Broxton was 23–11 with 12 saves and a 3.03 ERA in 303 innings. He struck out 332 batters, while walking 115 and giving up 244 hits.
His minor league teams were the Great Falls Dodgers of the Pioneer League, the South Georgia Waves of the South Atlantic League, the Vero Beach Dodgers of the Florida State League, and the "AA" Jacksonville Suns of the Southern League.
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Jonathan Papelbon
Jonathan Robert Papelbon (pronounced /ˈpæpəlbɒn/; born November 23, 1980) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. Before joining the Phillies, Papelbon played with the Boston Red Sox from 2005–2011.
On August 21, 2007, Papelbon recorded his 30th save of the season, becoming the first Boston pitcher to ever have two 30-save seasons. As of July 1, 2009, Papelbon holds the record of most saves by a Red Sox pitcher, beating Bob Stanley's previous record of 132 saves.
Papelbon was a three-time All-City honoree while playing in high school for Bishop Kenny High School in Jacksonville, FL. Early in his senior year, he committed to play college baseball for Mississippi State.
Papelbon was a closer for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. He had a 9–6 record, 13 saves, and 2.90 ERA in his three years on the team in relief. During his time at MSU, the Bulldogs appeared in the 2001 and 2003 NCAA Tournaments and won the 2001 SEC Tournament. In the summer after his freshman year, Papelbon played with the Silver Spring-Takoma Park Thunderbolts in suburban D.C. The team is a part of a wooden bat league for college players. During the subsequent summers of his college career Papelbon played for the Danville Dans, a summer baseball team located in Danville, Illinois. Soon after arriving in Danville he easily became a crowd favorite and led the team to a CICL championship. Papelbon graduated from Mississippi State in 2003.
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Jordana Brewster
Jordana Brewster (born April 26, 1980) is a Brazilian-American actress. She began her acting career in her late teens, with a 1995 one-episode role in the soap opera All My Children. She followed that appearance with the recurring role as Nikki Munson in As the World Turns, for which Brewster was nominated for Outstanding Teen Performer at the 1997 Soap Opera Digest Award. She was later cast as Delilah Profitt, one of the main characters in her first feature film, Robert Rodriguez's 1998 horror science fiction The Faculty. Her role brought her to the attention of a much wider audience, gained critical acclaim and achieved financial success. She also landed a starring role in a 1999 NBC television miniseries entitled The 60s.
Her breakthrough role came in the 2001 high budget car-themed action film The Fast and the Furious, which was a worldwide success. Brewster began being widely recognized. Other film credits include the 2004 action comedy film D.E.B.S., the 2005 independent drama Nearing Grace and the 2006 horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, for which she received two Teen Choice Award nominations. She had a recurring role in the NBC television series Chuck and starred in the 2009 film Fast & Furious, the fourth installment of the The Fast and the Furious film series. After guest roles in several television shows such as Dark Blue and Gigantic, she appeared in the fifth film in the franchise, 2011's Fast Five, which gained critical praise, becoming the highest rated entry for Brewster. She will star in the television series Dallas as character Elena Ramos.
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Jorge Posada
Jorge Rafael Posada Villeta (born August 17, 1971) is a retired Puerto Rican baseball catcher who played 17 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1995 to 2011. Posada produced strong offensive numbers for his position, recording a .273 batting average, 275 home runs, and 1,065 runs batted in (RBIs) during his career. A switch hitter, Posada was a five-time All-Star, won five Silver Slugger Awards, and was on the roster for four World Series championship teams.
Drafted by the Yankees in 1990, Posada was originally an infielder before moving to catcher during his minor league career. He debuted in the major leagues in 1995, but it was not until 1998 that he found regular playing time. A solid-hitting catcher, Posada established himself as a mainstay in the Yankees lineup and as one of the "Core Four" players who contributed to the Yankees' winning seasons. In 2003, he finished third in voting for the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award and became only the second Yankees catcher after Yogi Berra to hit 30 home runs in a season. Posada added one of his best seasons in 2007 at age 35 when he batted .338. Following a stint as designated hitter in 2011, he retired.
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Jose Canseco
José Canseco Capas, Jr. (born July 2, 1964), is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder, and designated hitter who is currently playing for the Worcester Tornadoes. He last played for the AAA Quintana Roo Tigres of the Mexican Baseball League, however he was banned from the Mexican League in 2012 for refusing to submit to a drug test and admitting to taking testosterone. He played for the Oakland Athletics (1985–1992, 1997) Texas Rangers (1992–1994), Boston Red Sox (1995–1996), Toronto Blue Jays (1998), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1999–2000), New York Yankees (2000) and Chicago White Sox (2001). During his career, Canseco was a six-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger Award winner, American League (AL) Rookie of the Year, and AL Most Valuable Player.
Canseco has admitted using performance enhancing drugs during his playing career, and wrote a tell-all book, Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, in which he claimed that the vast majority of MLB players use steroids.
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Josh Beckett
Joshua Patrick Beckett (born May 15, 1980) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. During his career in the playoffs, he won the 2003 World Series MVP Award with the Florida Marlins, and received the 2007 ALCS MVP award with the Red Sox.
A resident of Spring, Texas, Beckett was discovered by Florida Marlins scout Bob Laurie. Beckett had signed a letter of intent to play with the Texas A&M Aggies but went pro. Beckett spent most of his early years with the Marlins as a member of the team's young staff, but injuries (most frequently blister problems) limited him to only 99 starts (102 appearances) from 2002 to 2005.
Beckett's major league debut was on September 4, 2001, against the Chicago Cubs, in which he gave up one hit over six shutout innings. He finished 2001 with four games started, a 2-2 record, and an ERA of 1.50.
Beckett won the 2003 World Series MVP Award with two strong performances on three days' rest. Teamed up with catcher Iván Rodríguez, he helped the Marlins win the World Series, defeating the New York Yankees. During Game 6 at Yankee Stadium, he shut out the Yankees in a complete game, striking out 9 batters and clinching the series by making the tag for the final out.
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Josh Hamilton
Joshua Holt Hamilton (born May 21, 1981) is an American professional baseball player. An outfielder, Hamilton has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) since 2007. A member of the Texas Rangers (2008–present), he also played for the Cincinnati Reds (2007). He is a four-time MLB All Star and American League Most Valuable Player in 2010.
He was the first overall pick in the 1999 MLB draft by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was considered a blue chip prospect until injuries and a drug addiction derailed his career, beginning in 2001. Prior to the 2007 season, Hamilton was selected by the Chicago Cubs (picking for the Cincinnati Reds) in the Rule 5 Draft. He made his MLB debut in 2007 with the Reds and had a successful rookie season. During the off-season he was traded to the Texas Rangers for Edinson Volquez and Daniel Ray Herrera.
After his torrid start to the 2008 season, Hamilton was named to the American League All Star team, and made the All-Star team the next three seasons as well. He also participated in the Home Run Derby, where he hit a record 28 home runs in the opening round and finished with 35 home runs, which was second-most all-time in derby history. Hamilton won the AL batting title in 2010. On October 22, 2010, Hamilton was selected as MVP of the 2010 ALCS. On November 23, 2010, Hamilton was named the 2010 AL MVP, earning 22 of 28 first-place votes. On May 8, 2012 Hamilton became the 16th player in Major League history to hit four home runs in a game, and set an AL record for total bases in a game with 18.
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José Bautista
José Antonio Bautista (born October 19, 1980) is a professional baseball outfielder with the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball. Though now primarily a right fielder, having been a utility player in the past, he has major league experience at six different positions. He is from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
In the 2010 season, Bautista set a Toronto Blue Jays single-season franchise record by hitting a major league leading 54 home runs, making him only the 26th member of the 50 home run club in baseball history. In 2011, he once again led the major leagues with 43 home runs. He became the first player to earn two consecutive home run titles since Mark McGwire of the National League did so in the 1998 and 1999 seasons.
On July 3, 2011, Bautista set the all-time Major League record for the most All-Star votes received by a single player through fan balloting, with 7,454,753 votes. This number greatly surpassed the previous record of 6,069,688, set by Seattle's Ken Griffey, Jr. in 1994.
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José Cardenal
José Rosario Domec Cardenal (born October 7, 1943 in Matanzas, Cuba) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the San Francisco Giants (1963–64), California Angels (1965–67), Cleveland Indians (1968–69), St. Louis Cardinals (1970–1971), Milwaukee Brewers (1971), Chicago Cubs (1972–77), Philadelphia Phillies (1978–1979), New York Mets (1979–1980) and Kansas City Royals (1980). Cardenal batted and threw right-handed. He is the cousin of Bert Campaneris.
Cardenal played for nine major league clubs in a span of 18 seasons. Basically a line drive hitter with a good bat speed, he also was a smart, aggressive baserunner with excellent speed, collecting 20 or more stolen bases in ten seasons. At the field, he showed good range and a strong throwing arm in center field.
Cardenal started his major league career with the San Francisco Giants in 1963 and was sent to the California Angels before the 1965 season. He finished second in the American League with 37 stolen bases, then was dealt to the Cleveland Indians after the 1967 season. He led the Indians twice in steals twice with a career-high 40 in 1968. In that season, he tied a major league record for outfielders by making two unassisted double plays. Traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1970, he hit .293 with 74 RBI. In a 1971 season split between the Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers, he collected a career-high 80 RBI. He was sent to the Chicago Cubs at the end of the season.
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José Rijo
José Antonio Rijo Abreu (born May 13, 1965) is a Dominican former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent the majority of his career with the Cincinnati Reds (1988–1995 and 2001–2002).
Plagued by injuries during his career, he left the major leagues at age 30 before returning six years later for one and a half seasons. Rijo is perhaps best known for his performance in the 1990 World Series, when he recorded two victories in a four-game sweep over the defending champion Oakland A's, including a two-hitter in the final Game Four. Rijo's performance earned him the World Series MVP Award as the Reds won their first championship in fourteen years.
When Rijo broke into the majors with the New York Yankees in 1984, he was 18 years old and the youngest player in either league. The previous year, he'd had a 15-5 record in the Florida League with a 1.68 ERA. But he did not have a good rookie season, and some observers (notably ESPN) commented that Yankee owner George Steinbrenner had orchestrated the call-up, hoping to create a phenom along the lines of the crosstown Mets' 1984 rookie sensation Dwight Gooden. When this did not happen, Rijo was sent to the Oakland A's as part of a trade package for Rickey Henderson.
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José Vizcaíno
José Luis Vizcaíno Pimental (born March 26, 1968 in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic) is a former Major League Baseball player. He was a backup infielder for most of his MLB career. He, along with Darryl Strawberry, and Ricky Ledee are the only Major League Baseball players to have played for all four (one-time) New York teams—the New York Yankees, the New York Mets, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the San Francisco Giants.
Vizcaino made his debut with the Dodgers as a late-season call-up in 1989, where he played five games at shortstop for them to conclude the season. In 1990, he was again called up late, playing in 37 games and where he hit a respectable .275. Despite his play, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs on December 14, 1990.
In Chicago Vizcaino saw his playing time increase, appearing in no less than 86 games in any given season, including a career-high 151 games in 1992. In 1993, he played a significant role, having 551 at-bats and being 9th in the National League with 131 singles as well as second in the NL with 9 sacrifice flies.
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Joy Enriquez
Joy Charity Enriquez (born June 6, 1978 in Whittier, California) is an American singer and actress who has appeared on the television series 7th Heaven and also starred in films such as Chasing Papi and Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure (voice). Enriquez was also a background singer to the single "When You Believe", a duet by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey.
At the age of eleven, she participated in the US TV show Star Search and won eleven performances. After Star Search, her mother began sending out videotapes of her performances, hoping to land a record deal. Enriquez got a solo deal with LaFace Records, and in 2000, released her debut album entitled Joy Enriquez, including first single "Tell Me How You Feel". The single and album had some success internationally, providing the opportunity for Enriquez to make promotional visits to Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Singapore and Korea. In the US, Enriquez's album was released one week after the 9/11 attacks. Her older sister, Tiffany Enriquez, who is still Joy's manager as well as Epic Records recording artist, Tiffany Dunn has given voice lessons to American Idol finalist Allison Iraheta.
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Juan Marichal
Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez (born October 20, 1937 in Laguna Verde, Dominican Republic) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Playing for the San Francisco Giants most of his career, Marichal was known for his high leg kick, pinpoint control and intimidation tactics, which included aiming pitches directly at the opposing batters' helmets.[citation needed]
Marichal also played for the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers for the final two seasons of his career. Although he won more games than any other pitcher during the 1960s, he appeared in only one World Series game and he was often overshadowed by Sandy Koufax and Bob Gibson in post-season awards. Marichal was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983.
Juan Marichal was born on October 20, 1937 in the small farming village of Laguna Verde, Dominican Republic, the youngest of Francisco and Natividad Marichal's four children. He has two brothers, Gonzalo and Rafael, and a sister named Maria. His father died of an unknown illness when Marichal was three years old. His house did not have electricity, but because his family owned a farm, food was plentiful. As a child, Marichal worked on the farm daily, and was responsible for taking care of his family's horses, donkeys, and goats. He lived near the Yaque del Norte River, and often spent time swimming and fishing. One day, while Marichal was playing by the river, he fell unconscious due to poor digestion, and was in a coma for nine days. Doctors did not expect him to survive, but he slowly regained consciousness after his family gave him steam baths by doctors orders.
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Judi Brown
Judith ("Judi") Lynne Brown-King (born July 14, 1961) is an American athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metre hurdles.
She competed for the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where she won the silver medal in the women's 400 metre hurdles event.
Brown was a two-time gold medalist at the Pan American Games (1983, 1987), and was a twelve-time Big Ten champion in track and field events. In 1987, she was selected Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine for her community involvement.
Brown holds two degrees from Michigan State University, a Bachelors degree in Audiology and Speech Science, and a Masters degree in Education. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration and Public Policy from Western Michigan University, from which she graduated with honors. She also is a member of the Michigan Even Start Statewide Family Literacy Consortium.
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Julio Franco
Julio César Robles Franco (born August 23, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball infielder and designated hitter. In 2007, Franco was the oldest active player in the major leagues at the age of 49.
While Franco was an All-Star and posted above-average hitting statistics throughout his career, he is best known for being the oldest regular position player in Major League history. Franco was the all-time hits leader among Dominican-born players until surpassed in 2011 by Vladimir Guerrero. He made his debut on April 23, 1982, as a shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies. During his long career, Franco saw significant time as a shortstop, second baseman, first baseman, and designated hitter.
As his career started, Franco was part of a 1982 five-for-one trade between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Cleveland Indians. The Phillies received highly regarded prospect, Von Hayes, in exchange for Manny Trillo, George Vukovich, Jay Baller, Jerry Willard, and Franco.
Franco hit over .300 in every season from 1986 to 1989. He also averaged over 20 stolen bases per season from 1983 through 1991. When he switched from shortstop to second baseman in 1988, he won four straight Silver Slugger Awards. Franco batted with a long whip-like swing with the heaviest bat allowed. Because of his batting style, Franco twice led the American League in grounding into double plays and was in the top-ten in that category seven times in the 1980s alone. He is seventh on the all-time list in ground-ball double plays and has just over 300.
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Justin Morneau
Justin Ernest George Morneau (born May 15, 1981) is a Canadian first baseman for the Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB). At 6 feet 4 inches and 220 lbs, Morneau was drafted as a catcher by the Twins in 1999. He converted to first base in the minor leagues and made his MLB debut in 2003. He has held that position throughout his career and became the first Twin since Gary Gaetti in 1987–88 to hit 30 home runs in consecutive seasons. Along with fellow teammate Joe Mauer, they are considered one of the best hitting tandems in baseball.
A four-time All-Star, Morneau was the American League Most Valuable Player during the 2006 season by helping the Twins win their fourth division title in five years. He finished runner-up for MVP in 2008 and won two Silver Slugger Awards as well as the 2008 Home Run Derby. Internationally, Morneau represented Canada at the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic.
Midway through the 2010 season, Morneau suffered a concussion while sliding into second base. The injury sidelined him for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs. Up to that point, he was a leading candidate for his second AL MVP award. Despite making the opening day roster in 2011, Morneau dealt with numerous injuries and sustained another concussion during the season that limited his production. Morneau recovered from his ailments and has since split time between designated hitter and first base for the Twins.
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Justin Thomas
Justin Joseph Thomas (born January 18, 1984 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. Thomas stands at 6'3" and weighs 215 pounds. He throws and bats left-handed.
Thomas attended Clay High School and Cardinal Stritch High School in Oregon, Ohio and was a four-year letterman for the varsity baseball team and set the school record for most home runs and tied the school record for most home runs in a season. Thomas was named to the USSSA World Series first-team all-tournament team and was a two-time first-team All-GLL selection. He was also named first-team all-district and was an honorable mention selection as a pitcher and helped lead Clay to a league championship. He was named team MVP and received the James F. O’Brian Award for Best Male Student Athlete. In addition to being a four year letterman in baseball, he lettered in golf and was a three-year letter winner in basketball.
Upon graduation, Thomas attended Youngstown State University from 2002 to 2005. The lefty starter helped the Penguins capture a Horizon League Title in the 2004, pitching the team into the finals and making their first ever appearance in the College World Series. In 2005 he was named First Team All-League and Horizon Pitcher of the Year boasting a 7-5 record with a 3.42 ERA and four complete games. He left Youngstown State ranked second in strikeouts with 250 and is the only pitcher in school history to pitch back-to-back seasons of at least seven wins.
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Justin Verlander
Justin Brooks Verlander (born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball.
In 2006, he was named the American League Rookie of the Year. On June 12, 2007, he pitched a no-hitter—the first ever at Comerica Park—against the Milwaukee Brewers, striking out 12 batters and walking four. He pitched a second no-hitter against the Toronto Blue Jays on May 7, 2011, in Toronto, walking one and facing the minimum 27 batters. On November 15, 2011, Verlander was named the 2011 AL Cy Young Award winner by a unanimous vote, becoming the first American League pitcher since Johan Santana in 2006 to win the award in such a fashion. On November 21, 2011, Verlander was voted the AL MVP, winning with 280 points over Jacoby Ellsbury's 242, completing a sweep of the Cy Young Award and MVP, a rare feat for a pitcher in the modern era.
His father Richard, who was president of the local Richmond, Virginia chapter of the Communications Workers of America, sent Justin to The Richmond Baseball Academy. Justin clocked 84 mph (135 km/h) shortly after joining the academy. His velocity kept climbing, and hit 86 MPH by the time he entered Goochland High School. He had been a top pitching prospect in high school, but his career suffered a setback when he came down with strep throat early in his senior season of baseball. A weakened Verlander topped out at 81 during that season, causing professional scouts to lose interest. After he recovered, his velocity reached 87 during his first year at Old Dominion.
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Kazuhiro Sasaki
Kazuhiro "Daimajin" Sasaki (佐々木 主浩 Sasaki Kazuhiro, born February 22, 1968 in Sendai City, Japan) is a former Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played his entire NPB career with the Yokohama Taiyo Whales / Yokohama BayStars (1990–1999; 2004–2005). Sasaki played his entire MLB career with the Seattle Mariners (2000–2003).
After playing college baseball for Tohoku Fukushi University, Sasaki was drafted with the seventh pick in the first round of the 1989 draft by the Yokohama Taiyō Whales (now named Yokohama BayStars) in Japan's Central League. He played for them from 1990–1999, before joining the Seattle Mariners in 2000. He joined a bullpen that had been one of the worst in the Major Leagues, and during his rookie year won the closer job from a floundering Jose Mesa. Sasaki's out pitch, a devastating split-fingered fastball that drops when arriving at home plate, was nicknamed "The Thang" by Mariners radio announcers. He complemented it with a four-seam fastball that could reach the low-90s. Sasaki maintained a rigorous throwing program, sometimes at odds with club management, that saw him throw up to 100 pitches following games in which he did not appear.
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Keith Foulke
Keith Charles Foulke ( /ˈfoʊk/; born October 19, 1972 in Ellsworth Air Force Base, South Dakota) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher.
After graduating from Hargrave High School in Huffman, Texas in 1991, he attended Galveston College and Lewis-Clark State College in Idaho. He began his career in the minor-league system of the San Francisco Giants, but was traded to the Chicago White Sox in 1997 with five other prospects for starting pitchers Wilson Alvarez and Danny Darwin, and top reliever Roberto Hernandez in the infamous White Flag Trade.
In 1998, Keith found a home in the White Sox bullpen, primarily serving as set-up man for closers Matt Karchner (who was traded to the Chicago Cubs in the middle of the season) and Bill Simas. In 1999, Foulke established himself as one of the league's best relief pitchers, posting a 2.22 ERA in 105.1 innings of work over 67 games, however, he was still used primarily as a set-up man. His stellar season even netted him a vote for the 1999 AL Cy Young Award.
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Ken Boyer
Kenton Lloyd Boyer (May 20, 1931 – September 7, 1982) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman and manager. During a 15-year baseball career, he played for 1955–1969 for four different teams, playing primarily for the St. Louis Cardinals. Winner of the 1964 National League MVP Award, he became the second player at his position to hit 250 career home runs, and retired with the third highest slugging average by a third baseman (.462). His 255 homers as a Cardinal rank second for right-handed hitters to Albert Pujols, and rank third in club history to teammate Stan Musial's 475. A five-time Gold Glove Award winner, he also led the NL in double plays five times and retired among the all-time leaders in games (6th, 1,785), assists (6th, 3,652) and double plays (3rd, 355) at third base.
A native of Alba, Missouri, Boyer was one of fourteen children, and two of his brothers also played in the major leagues: older brother Cloyd was a pitcher for the Cardinals in the early 1950s, and younger brother Clete (1937–2007) became a third baseman for the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. Three other brothers played in the minor leagues.
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Ken Huckaby
Kenneth Paul Huckaby (born January 27, 1971 in San Leandro, California) is a retired catcher in Major League Baseball. He bats and throws right-handed. Through 2007, Huckaby is a .222 hitter with three home runs and 31 RBI in 161 games played.
Huckaby attended Manteca High School. Previously, Huckaby played with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2001), Toronto Blue Jays (2002-2003, 2005), Texas Rangers (2004), Baltimore Orioles (2004), and Boston Red Sox (2006).
A competent defensive replacement with a strong throwing arm, his most productive season came in 2002 with Toronto, when he posted career-highs in batting average (.245), home runs (3), RBI (22) and games (88).
Huckaby was involved in a collision with shortstop, Derek Jeter in the 2003 season opener against the New York Yankees. With Derek Jeter on first base and Jason Giambi at bat, Toronto used an extreme shift that left third base uncovered. Giambi hit a soft grounder to the pitcher, Roy Halladay, who threw to first baseman Carlos Delgado for an out. Jeter, seeing Toronto out of position, rounded second and ran to third. Huckaby ran up the line to cover third and fielded Delgado's throw. Jeter dove headfirst into the bag, while Huckaby attempted to catch the baseball and block Jeter from reaching third. In doing so, Huckaby fell onto Jeter; his shin guard driving into Jeter's shoulder.
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Ken Singleton
Kenneth Wayne Singleton (born June 10, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player and current television sports commentator. He played as an outfielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets, Montreal Expos, and Baltimore Orioles.
Born in Manhattan, New York City, and raised in nearby Mount Vernon, Singleton played both baseball and basketball in high school. He also played baseball in the Bronx Federation League at Macombs Dam Park, across the street from Yankee Stadium. Singleton was drafted out of Hofstra University by the New York Mets as the third overall pick in the 1st round of the 1967 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his major league debut with the Mets on June 24, 1970 at the age of 23. In April 1972, he was part of a package traded to the Montreal Expos for Rusty Staub.
Singleton's best year of the three in Montreal was 1973, when he led the league in on-base percentage (one of nine top-ten finishes in that category over the course of his career) and collected 23 home runs, 103 RBIs and a .302 batting average (first .300 season). Following the 1974 season, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Dave McNally.
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Ken Venturi
Kenneth Venturi (born May 15, 1931) is an American former professional golfer and golf broadcaster.
Venturi was born in San Francisco, California. He learned golf from an early age, and developed his game at Harding Park Golf Course and other public courses in the area. In the early 1950s, Venturi had been a pupil of the great Byron Nelson, and was also influenced by playing partner Ben Hogan. He won the California State Amateur Championship in 1951 and 1956, serving in the Army in Korea in the interim. Venturi first gained national attention in 1956 while still an amateur; he finished second in that year's Masters, by one shot to Jack Burke, Jr., after leading from the first round. Venturi shot a final-round 80 in very windy conditions, and relinquished a four-shot lead, which prevented him from winning outright and thus becoming the first amateur to do so in the history of The Masters. Years later it would be compared to Greg Norman's back nine collapse in 1996.
Venturi was a regular winner during his early years on the PGA Tour after turning pro at the end of 1956. He again come close to winning the Masters in 1958 and 1960, both times being edged out by Arnold Palmer.
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Kent Hrbek
Kent Allen Hrbek ( /ˈhɜrbɛk/; born May 21, 1960 in Minneapolis, Minnesota), nicknamed Herbie, is a former American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the Minnesota Twins (1981–1994). Hrbek batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He hit the first home run in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome on April 3, 1982 in an exhibition game against the Phillies. Fans knew Hrbek as an outstanding defensive player, perennial slugger, and charismatic hometown favorite. He attended Kennedy High School in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Kent Hrbek was drafted by the hometown Minnesota Twins in the 17th round of the 1978 Major League Baseball Draft and spent the next three seasons working his way up the Twins' organizational ladder where he would hit 47 home runs and 111 runs batted in while hitting .318 in 253 minor league games. In 1979, Hrbek played 24 games for the rookie league Elizabethton Twins in the Appalachian Rookie League before spending the next two seasons playing A ball, first for the Wisconsin Rapids Twins in the Midwest League and then the Visalia Oaks in the California League. Hrbek made his major league debut on August 24, 1981 at Yankee Stadium, hitting a game-winning home run in the 12th inning off New York reliever, and future Twin, George Frazier .
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Kevin Youkilis
Kevin Edmund Youkilis ( /ˈjuːkəlɪs/; born March 15, 1979), also known as "Youk" ( /ˈjuːk/), is an American professional baseball player with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he was drafted by the Red Sox in 2001 after playing college baseball at the University of Cincinnati.
Known for his ability to get on base, Youkilis (while still a minor leaguer) was nicknamed "Euclis: The Greek God of Walks" in the best-selling book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game. A Gold Glove Award-winning first baseman, he once held baseball's record for most consecutive errorless games at first base (later broken by Casey Kotchman). He is also a three-time MLB All-Star, two-time World Series Champion, and winner of the 2008 Hank Aaron Award.
An intense performer on the playing field, Youkilis is known for his scrappiness, grittiness, dirt-stained jerseys, and home-plate collisions. He has excelled despite a physique that led many observers to underestimate his athletic ability: he was called "roly-poly" by his high school coach, "pudgy" by his college coach, a "fat kid" by general manager Billy Beane, and a "thicker-bodied guy" by the Red Sox scout who recruited him. Or, as Jackie MacMullan wrote for the Boston Globe: "He does not look like an MVP candidate; more a refrigerator repairman, a butcher, the man selling hammers behind the counter at the True Value hardware store." Youkilis was named to the Sporting News' list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball, ranking No. 36 on the list in 2009, No. 38 in 2010, and No. 35 in 2011.
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Kid Elberfeld
Norman Arthur "Kid" Elberfeld (April 13, 1875 – January 13, 1944), nicknamed "The Tabasco Kid," was a shortstop in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies (1898), Cincinnati Reds (1899), Detroit Tigers (1901–1903), New York Highlanders (1903–1909), Washington Senators (1910–1911), and Brooklyn Robins (1914). Elberfled also managed the New York Highlanders for the last half of the 1908 season.
Elberfeld was given the nickname "The Tabasco Kid" because of his fiery temper. Elberfeld was known for his ferocious verbal, and sometimes physical, assaults on umpires. On one occasion, while in the minors, Elberfeld threw a lump of mud into the umpire's open mouth. Later in his career, Elberfeld assaulted umpire Silk O'Loughlin and had to be forcibly removed by police; Elberfeld was suspended for just 8 games. Although records were not kept, it was said that Elberfeld was thrown out of more games than any other player of his era.
Aside from his temper, Elberfeld became known as one of the best shortstops in the early years of the 20th Century. He was known as a tough competitor who challenged baserunners to slash him out of their way. They sometimes did precisely that. On May 1, 1908, Elberfeld was severely spiked in the foot by Bob Ganley‚ essentially ending his season. Elberfeld batted only 56 times in 1908. During Ty Cobb's rookie season, he had a basepath meeting with the Tabasco Kid. Cobb slid head first into second base, only to have Elberfeld dig his knee into the back of Cobb's neck, grinding his face in the dirt. According to a Cobb biographer, that was the last time Cobb slid headfirst into a base. Shortly before his death, Elberfeld was quoted as saying "Ty found out my feet were harder than his head. Then he started coming in spikes first. I had to protect myself." Elberfeld's legs were badly scarred from years of highly flying spikes, and he reportedly poured raw whisky into spike wounds to cauterize them.
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Kipchoge Keino
Kipchoge ("Kip") Keino (born 17 January 1940), chairman of the Kenyan Olympic Committee (KOC), is a retired Kenyan track and field athlete and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Kip Keino was among the first in a long line of successful middle and long distance runners to come from the country and has helped and inspired many of his fellow countrymen and women to become the athletics force that they are today.
Keino was born in Kipsamo, Nandi District, Kenya. Both of his parents died while he was young. He was then brought up by his aunt. After finishing school, he joined Kenya Police. Before taking athletics, he played rugby
He began his international career at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in Perth, Australia where he came eleventh in the three miles. At the 1964 Summer Olympics he finished fifth in 5000 m and barely missed the 1500 m final.
On 27 August 1965, Keino lowered the 3000 m world record by over 6 seconds to 7:39.6 at his first attempt at the distance. He won two gold medals (1500 & 5000 metres) at the inaugural All-Africa Games. Later in that year he broke the 5000 m world record held by Ron Clarke clocking 13:24.2. At the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica he won both the mile run and three mile run. In the next Commonwealth Games, Keino won the 1500 metres and was third in the 5000 metres.
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Kirby Puckett
Kirby Puckett (March 14, 1960 – March 6, 2006) was an American Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 12-year baseball career with the Minnesota Twins (1984–1995) and is the Twins franchise's all-time leader in career hits, runs, doubles, and total bases. At the time of his retirement, his .318 career batting average was the highest by any right-handed American League batter since Joe DiMaggio.
Puckett was the fourth baseball player during the 20th century to record 1,000 hits in his first five full calendar years in Major League Baseball, and was the second to record 2,000 hits during his first ten full calendar years. After being forced to retire at age 35 due to loss of vision in one eye from a central retinal vein occlusion, Puckett was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 in his first year of eligibility.
Puckett was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Robert Taylor Homes, a housing project on Chicago's South Side (the escape from which he frequently referred back to during his career). He attended and played baseball for Calumet High School. After receiving no scholarship offers following graduation, Puckett at first went to work on an assembly line for Ford Motor Company. However he was given a chance to attend Bradley University and was a star on the baseball team, despite his under-sized 5' 8" frame, before the Minnesota Twins selected him in the 1st round (3rd pick) of the 1982 MLB Draft.
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LaMarr Hoyt
Dewey LaMarr Hoyt (born January 1, 1955, in Columbia, South Carolina) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who won the 1983 American League Cy Young Award.
Originally signed by the New York Yankees in the fifth round of the 1973 amateur draft, Hoyt was traded with fellow pitching prospect Bob Polinsky, outfielder Oscar Gamble, and $200,000 to the Chicago White Sox in a 1977 season-opening deal that sent the Yankees shortstop Bucky Dent. A relief pitcher when he made the White Sox to stay in 1980, Hoyt was switched to the starting rotation in 1982 and tied a club record by winning his first nine decisions. The record was first set by Lefty Williams in 1917 and equaled by Orval Grove in 1943. Hoyt ended up leading the American League with 19 wins and showed devastating control on the mound; he walked a mere 48 batters in 239.2 innings.
Hoyt was even better in 1983, winning the American League Cy Young Award. His 24-10 won-lost record, 3.66 earned run average, and even better control than the previous season (walking 31 batters in 260.2 innings, and leading the league in fewest walks per nine innings for the first of three straight seasons) helped the White Sox capture the American League West title.
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Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong (born Lance Edward Gunderson on September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support. He last rode for UCI ProTeam Team RadioShack, a team he helped found.
In October 1996 he was diagnosed as having testicular cancer with a tumor that had metastasized to his brain and lungs. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy, and his prognosis was originally poor. He went on to win the Tour de France each year from 1999 to 2005, and is the only person to win seven times having broken the previous record of five wins shared by Miguel Indurain, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx, and Jacques Anquetil.
In 1999, he was named the ABC Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. In 2000 he won the Prince of Asturias Award in Sports. In 2002, Sports Illustrated magazine named him Sportsman of the Year. He was also named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the years 2002–2005. He received ESPN's ESPY Award for Best Male Athlete in 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006, and won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award in 2003. Armstrong announced his retirement from racing on July 24, 2005, at the end of the 2005 Tour de France but returned to competitive cycling in January 2009 and finished third in the 2009 Tour de France. He confirmed he had retired from competitive cycling for good on February 16, 2011.
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Lara Dutta
Lara Dutta Bhupathi (born 16 April 1978) is an Indian Bollywood actress and former Miss Universe (2000).
She made her Hindi debut in 2003 with the film Andaaz which was a box office success and won her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award. Her box office hit successes include a series of comedies Masti (2004), No Entry (2005), Bhagam Bhag (2006), Partner (2007) and Housefull (2010). Her recent film Don 2 (2011) is a major commercial success in the domestic and international markets.
Dutta was born in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh to an Indian father and an Anglo-Indian mother. Her father is Wing Commander L.K. Dutta (retired) and her mother is Jennifer Dutta. She also has two elder sisters, Sabrina, who serves in the Indian Air Force and a well known younger sister Cheryl. Composer and DJ Nitin Sawhney is Dutta's cousin. The Dutta family moved to Bangalore in 1981 where she completed high school from St.Francis Xavier Girls' High School and the Frank Anthony Public School. Dutta graduated in economics with a minor in communications from the University of Mumbai. She is fluent in English, Hindi, Kannada, and French.[citation needed]
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Larry Rothschild
Lawrence Lee Rothschild (born March 12, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and manager. He currently serves as the pitching coach of the New York Yankees.
Rothschild graduated from Homewood-Flossmoor High School and pitched for the Florida State Seminoles baseball team. He signed as an amateur free agent with the Cincinnati Reds in 1975.
Rothschild spent 11 years in the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, and Chicago Cubs organizations as a relief pitcher from 1975 to 1985. He was 66-46 in the minor leagues. He pitched in seven games in the major leagues for the Tigers, five in 1981 and two in 1982.
He then worked as a coach with the Reds from 1986 to 1993, winning a World Series ring in 1990 as the team's bullpen coach.
Rothschild worked with the Atlanta Braves as a pitching instructor in 1995 before joining the Florida Marlins in 1995 and staying until 1997, where he won another World Series ring in 1997.
He managed the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beginning in their inaugural season of 1998 until early in the 2001 season, when he was fired as a result of three consecutive losing seasons and a 4-10 start to 2001. During his time in Tampa Bay, Rothschild compiled a record of 205 wins and 294 losses.
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Larry Sherry
Lawrence Sherry (July 25, 1935 – December 17, 2006) was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1959 World Series as the Dodgers won their first championship since relocating from Brooklyn just two years earlier.
Sherry was born in Los Angeles, California. He was born with clubfeet, for which he needed surgery as an infant and wore special shoes. He attended Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles, California, Sherry made his debut with his hometown Dodgers on April 17, 1958 – just their third game after moving west. Adding to the pressure, the game was played on the road against their hated rivals, the San Francisco Giants, who had also relocated from New York City. Sherry had a brief outing, facing four batters without recording an out, and appeared in only four more games all year.
But he returned with a solid season in 1959, winning 7 games with only two losses, with an earned run average of 2.19. He was named MVP of the 1959 World Series, in which the Dodgers defeated the Chicago White Sox in 6 games, and also received the Babe Ruth Award. Sherry completed all four Dodger victories during the Series, winning two of them and saving the two others, and had a 0.71 ERA in 12 2⁄3 innings.
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LaTroy Hawkins
LaTroy Hawkins (born December 21, 1972 in Gary, Indiana) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher who currently plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
Hawkins was drafted straight out of high school by the Minnesota Twins in the 1991 amateur draft, and spent the next four years in the Twins' minor league system. His major league debut early in the 1995 season was a disastrous start against the Baltimore Orioles, where he gave up seven earned runs in only an inning and two thirds of work. Hawkins bounced between the big league club and Salt Lake of the PCL over the next few years, finally landing in the Twins' bullpen permanently in 1998. He was the opposing starting pitcher during the perfect game by Yankees pitcher David Wells on May 17, 1998.
Sporting a mid-90s fastball, Hawkins was used by the Twins as their closer during the 2000 and 2001 seasons, but eventually lost the job to Eddie Guardado. In the set-up role, Hawkins drew the attention of the league when he posted a 2.13 ERA in 2002. He fared even better in 2003, when his ERA dropped to 1.86 and he struck out 75 batters in just 77 and 1/3 innings. Hawkins became a free agent after the 2003 season.
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Lee Mazzilli
Lee Louis Mazzilli, (born March 25, 1955 in Brooklyn, New York), is a former Major League Baseball player, coach, and manager. On December 11, 2006, he was hired as the lead studio analyst for SportsNet New York, the New York Mets' cable television network. For the 2009 season, he was replaced by Bob Ojeda.
An excellent athlete, young Lee was the son of welterweight boxer Libero Mazzilli. Unlike most switch hitters, who naturally bat from one side of the plate and train themselves to feel comfortable on the other, Mazzilli was naturally ambidextrous and swung the bat both ways from an early age. The sport he most excelled in as a junior was speed skating, in which he won eight national championships. He graduated from Brooklyn's Lincoln High School in 1973 and was the first round selection (14th pick overall) of the hometown Mets.
He is most remembered as a member of the Mets, who selected him with the 14th pick in the first round of the June 1973 draft. He was quite popular in New York City, thanks not only to his talent, but his Brooklyn roots and matinée idol looks.
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Lee Trevino
Lee Buck Trevino (born December 1, 1939) is a Mexican American professional golfer. He is an icon for Mexican Americans, and is often referred to as "The Merry Mex" and "Supermex". He won six major championships over the course of his career.
Trevino was born in Dallas, Texas into a family of Mexican ancestry. He was raised by his mother, Juanita Trevino, and his grandfather, Joe Trevino, a gravedigger. Trevino never knew his father, Joseph Trevino, who left when his son was small. Trevino's childhood consisted of attending school occasionally and working to earn money for the family. At age five, he started working in the cotton fields.
Trevino was introduced to golf when his uncle gave him a few golf balls and an old golf club. He then spent his free time sneaking into nearby country clubs to practice, and began as a caddy at the Dallas Athletic Club. He soon began caddying full-time. Trevino had to leave school at 14 to go to work. He earned $30 a week as a caddy and a shoeshiner. He was also able to practice golf, since the caddies had three short holes behind their shack. After work, he would hit at least 300 balls. Trevino has claimed to have earned extra money by challenging competitors to rounds of golf where he used only a shovel and taped-up 32-ounce glass Dr. Pepper bottle.
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Leon Wagner
Leon Lamar Wagner (May 13, 1934 – January 3, 2004) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who played with the San Francisco Giants (1958–59, 1969), St. Louis Cardinals (1960), Los Angeles Angels (1961–63), Cleveland Indians (1964–68) and Chicago White Sox (1968). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Wagner graduated from Tuskegee University. He was affectionately known as "Daddy Wags" during his playing days.
In a 12-season career, Wagner was a .272 hitter with 211 home runs and 669 RBI in 1352 games.
Wagner was 24 years old when he broke into the big leagues on June 22, 1958. A solid line-drive hitter and colorful player, in his rookie year Wagner compiled a .307 batting average with 13 home runs in 74 games. With a congested outfield that included Willie Mays, Felipe Alou, Orlando Cepeda and Bill White, he was traded to the Cardinals after the 1959 season.
Wagner played a reserve role for St. Louis in 39 games and hit four home runs. Nevertheless, one of them was a notable one; he entered the major league record books by hitting the first home run ever at Candlestick Park on April 12, 1960, providing the only Cardinals run during a 3–1 loss against his former Giants team.
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Lew Burdette
Selva Lewis Burdette, Jr. (November 22, 1926 – February 6, 2007) was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves. The team's top right-hander during its years in Milwaukee, he was the Most Valuable Player of the 1957 World Series, leading the franchise to its first championship in 43 years, and the only title in Milwaukee history. An outstanding control pitcher, his career average of 1.84 walks per nine innings pitched places him behind only Robin Roberts (1.73), Carl Hubbell (1.82) and Juan Marichal (1.82) among pitchers with at least 3000 innings since 1920.
Born in Nitro, West Virginia, Burdette was signed by the New York Yankees in 1947, and after making two relief appearances for the team in September 1950, he was traded to the Braves in August 1951 for four-time 20-game winner Johnny Sain. Along with left-hander Warren Spahn and Bob Buhl, he gave the Braves one of the best starting rotations in the majors during the 1950s, winning 15 or more games eight times between 1953 and 1961. Burdette led National League pitchers in earned run average in 1956. When Milwaukee won the 1957 World Series against the Yankees, Burdette became the first pitcher in 37 years to win three complete games in a Series, and the first since Christy Mathewson in 1905 to pitch two shutouts (Games 5 and 7). In the 1958 Series, however, the Yankees defeated Burdette twice in three starts. In addition to winning 20 games in 1958 and tying Spahn for the National League lead with 21 victories in 1959, Burdette won 19 in 1956 and 1960, 18 in 1961, and 17 in 1957.
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Liván Hernández
Eisler Liván Hernández Carrera (Spanish pronunciation: [liˈβan erˈnandeθ]; born February 20, 1975) is a Cuban professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. He is the half-brother of pitcher Orlando "El Duque" Hernández.
Liván Hernández is a successful baseball player from a poor family in Cuba. He was born in Villa Clara Province. After meeting recruiter Joe Cubas in Venezuela in 1994, the two planned an escape through Mexico. At the age of 20, Hernández gave up his $6 a month job as an official Cuban athlete and defected to the United States in 1995. His half-brother, Orlando, would defect two years later.
Hernández has played for the Florida Marlins (1996–1999), the San Francisco Giants (1999–2002), the Montreal Expos (2003–2004), the Washington Nationals (2005–2006, 2009–2011), the Arizona Diamondbacks (2006–2007), the Minnesota Twins (2008), the Colorado Rockies (2008), and the New York Mets (2009). He bats and throws right-handed, and is known for throwing a "slow hook" curveball, sometimes below sixty miles per hour, as a strikeout pitch.
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Lou Brock
Louis Clark "Lou" Brock (born June 18, 1939) is an American former professional baseball player. He began his Major League Baseball career with the Chicago Cubs but, spent the majority of his career as the left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was best known for breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league stolen base record. He is currently a special instructor coach for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.
Brock was born in El Dorado, Arkansas to a family of sharecroppers. His family moved to Collinston, Louisiana when he was two years old. While his family didn't have much money, he said that he never felt poor because,"If you don't have something, you don't miss it." Brock grew up as a fan of the Brooklyn Dodgers, the team that included Jackie Robinson, Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella. Although he didn't play in organized baseball until he reached the 11th grade, he learned much about the sport from listening to Cardinals radio broadcaster Harry Caray describe the way major league hitters stood at the plate. After attending high school in Mer Rouge, Louisiana, he received academic assistance to attend Southern University in Baton Rouge but, when a low grade in his first semester meant the possibility of losing his scholarship, he decided to try out for the school's baseball team in order to secure an athletic scholarship.
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Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" or "Buster"Gehrig (June 19, 1903 – June 2, 1941) was an American baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig set several major league records, including most career grand slams (23) and most consecutive games played (2,130). Gehrig is chiefly remembered for his prowess as a hitter and his durability, a trait which earned him his nickname "The Iron Horse", as well as the pathos of his farewell from baseball at age 36, when he was stricken with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Gehrig was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. In 1969 he was voted the greatest first baseman of all time by the Baseball Writers' Association, and was the leading vote-getter on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team, chosen by fans in 1999.
A native of New York City, he played for the Yankees until his career was cut short by ALS, a disorder now commonly known in the United States and Canada as Lou Gehrig's disease. Over a 15-season span from 1925 through 1939, he played in 2,130 consecutive games. This streak ended only when Gehrig became disabled by the fatal neuromuscular disease that claimed his life two years later. His streak, long considered one of baseball's few unbreakable records, stood for 56 years, until finally broken by Cal Ripken, Jr., of the Baltimore Orioles on September 6, 1995.
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Lou Piniella
Louis Victor Piniella ( /piːnˈjeɪjɑː/ usually /pɨˈnɛlə/; born August 28, 1943) is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He has been nicknamed "Sweet Lou," both for his swing as a major league hitter and, facetiously, to describe his demeanor as a player and manager. He finished his managerial career ranked 14th all-time on the list of managerial wins.
Piniella was born in Tampa, Florida, to parents of Asturian Spanish descent, and grew up in West Tampa. As a child, he played American Legion Baseball sponsored by Post 248 and PONY League Baseball alongside Tony La Russa. He attended Jesuit High School of Tampa where he was an All-American in basketball. After graduation, he attended the University of Tampa where he was an All-American in baseball.
Piniella was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent on June 9, 1962. That fall, he was drafted by the Washington Senators from the Indians in the 1962 first year draft. In August 1964, Piniella was sent to the Baltimore Orioles to complete an earlier trade for Buster Narum. Piniella played in his first major league game in 1964 with the Baltimore Orioles at the age of 21.
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Lou Whitaker
Louis Rodman Whitaker, Jr. (born May 12, 1957 in Brooklyn, New York) nicknamed Sweet Lou, is a former Major League Baseball player. Whitaker was a second baseman for the Detroit Tigers from 1977 to 1995. Along with teammate Alan Trammell, Whitaker is perhaps best known as half of the longest running "double play" combination in major league history.
Whitaker first played with shortstop Alan Trammell while with the old Double-A Montgomery Rebels. The two first played together in the major leagues when they were both called up to Detroit at the end of the 1977 season. Both players became starters by the end of April, 1978. They would remain teammates until Whitaker retired in 1995. Trammell and Whitaker also made a cameo appearance together on the television show Magnum, P.I. starring Tom Selleck, as themselves, during the 1983 season.
In 1978, Whitaker won the American League Rookie of the Year Award, hitting .285 with 71 runs, and a .361 on base percentage.
Whitaker enjoyed what was perhaps his best season in 1983, hitting for a .320 average with 12 home runs, 72 runs batted in, and 94 runs. That year he made the first of five consecutive All-Star appearances. In 1984, Whitaker and the Tigers won the World Series. The day Detroit clinched the Series was doubly special for Whitaker: the second eldest of his four daughters was born that day.
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Luis Aparicio
Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934) is a former professional baseball player from Venezuela. He played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 18 seasons from 1956 through 1973. In 1956, Aparicio won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year Award playing for the Chicago White Sox. Nicknamed "Little Louie", Aparicio was the dominant shortstop of his era and was inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. A thirteen-time All-Star and a nine-time stolen base champion, he was nominated for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.
Born in Maracaibo, Zulia State, Venezuela, Aparicio came from a baseball family. His father, Luis Aparicio Sr., was a notable shortstop in Venezuela and owned a Winter League team with Aparicio's uncle, Ernesto Aparicio. At the age of 19, Aparicio was selected as a member of the Venezuelan team in the 1953 Amateur World Series held in Caracas. He signed to play for the local professional team in Maracaibo alongside his father in 1953. In a symbolic gesture during the team's 1953 home opener, his father led off as the first hitter of the game, then after taking the first pitch, had Aparicio Jr. take his place at bat.
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Luis Polonia
Luis Andrew Polonia Almonte (born October 12, 1963, in Santiago, Dominican Republic) was a Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter.
Signed by the Oakland Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1984, Polonia would make his Major League Baseball debut with the Oakland Athletics on April 24, 1987, and appear in his final game on October 1, 2000. He played for two World Series Championship teams, winning with Atlanta in 1995 and the New York Yankees in 2000.
Polonia was born on October 12, 1963 in the Dominican Republic. He joined the Dominican League at an early age and was known as a strong contact hitter, as well as a below-average defensive outfielder. Though he had good speed, he was not a wise baserunner and led his league in caught stealing a total of five times between the minors and majors. He was also known for his tremendous performance during winter ball. He is one of the top 10 contact hitters in Dominican League history and is the all-time Caribbean series leader in hits, doubles, and runs scored as of 2008.
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Luis Sojo
Luis Beltrán Sojo Sojo (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlwiz βelˈtɾan ˈsoxo], English: /ˈsoʊhoʊ/ SOH-hoh; born January 3, 1966 in Petare, Miranda State, Venezuela) is a former Major League Baseball infielder and right-handed batter who played with the Toronto Blue Jays (1990, 1993), California Angels (1991–92), Seattle Mariners (1994–96), New York Yankees (1996–2001, 2003) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2000). He is currently 3rd base coach of the Navegantes del Magallanes, of the Venzuelan Winter League, in Valencia, Venezuela.
In his career, Sojo filled a role as a utility infielder for the Blue Jays, Angels, Mariners, Pirates and, most notably, for the Yankees.
Not classically athletic, he was a natural shortstop in the minors, but took on an expanded role in emergency situations, initially and most commonly as a second baseman, and eventually as a third baseman, first baseman and left fielder as well.
Sojo had limited power and did not draw many walks, but he was a good contact hitter, especially for someone who made a habit of falling behind in the count during his minor league tenure. He did show an ability to put the ball in play with a low strikeout rate (one for 13 at-bats). Some of his great contributions came when going to the opposite field in hit and run situations and with infield hits. An avid bunter, he led the league in sacrificial hits in 1991 (19). Though not a threat as a base stealer, he was a competent base runner. In the field, Sojo had a good range and a good arm, showing quick hands and slick moves.
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Luis Tiant
Luis Clemente Tiant Vega (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈlwis ˈtjant]), born November 23, 1940 in Marianao, Cuba, (then part of Havana Province), is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians (1964–1969), Minnesota Twins (1970), Boston Red Sox (1971–1978), New York Yankees (1979–80), Pittsburgh Pirates (1981) and California Angels (1982). Tiant is one of five pitchers to have pitched four or more consecutive shutouts in the 50-year expansion era, with Don Drysdale (six, 1968), Bob Gibson (five, 1968), Orel Hershiser (five, 1988) and Gaylord Perry (four, 1970) being the others.
Tiant is the only child of Luis Tiant, Sr. and Isabel Vega. From 1926 through 1948, the senior Tiant was a great left-handed pitcher for the Negro League's New York Cubans during the summer and the Cuban professional league's Cienfuegos in the winter, his heroics being followed by hundreds of thousands of Cubans. Luis Jr. followed in his father's footsteps at an early age, joining both the local Little and Juvenile baseball leagues until he starred for the Havana team and was picked up for the Cuban Juvenile League All-Star team in 1957.
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Lyn Lary
Lynford Hobart (Lyn) Lary (January 28, 1906 – January 9, 1973) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball from 1929 through 1940, primarily for the New York Yankees. Lary batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Armona, California.
In a 12-season career, Lary posted a .269 batting average with 38 home runs and 526 RBI in 1302 games played.
A well-traveled shortstop, Lary played for six different teams in a span of twelve years, including two stints with the St. Louis Browns and playing for three teams in 1939. A good defensive player, he had good hands with a strong arm and was competent on the double play. Primarily a singles hitter, his hustle on the bases was shown by taking an extra base or for breaking up a double play. He ended his career with a 1.50 walk-to-strikeout ratio (705-to-470).
Lary debuted with the New York Yankees in 1929, finishing with a .309 average. The next season he hit .289, and .280 in 1931. That season, he collected 107 RBI, the most ever by a Yankees shortstop, and was one of six Yankees to have at least 100 runs scored. Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, Ben Chapman, Earle Combs and Joe Sewell were the others. Lary also had career-numbers in home runs (10) and triples (nine).
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Manny Ramirez
Manuel Arístides "Manny" Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican-American professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who is currently with the Oakland Athletics organization. He was recognized for great batting skill and power, a nine-time Silver Slugger and one of 25 players to hit 500 career home runs. Ramirez's 21 grand slams are third all-time, and his 28 post-season home runs are the most by any player in MLB history. He was a fixture in the All-Star Game with 12 appearances including eleven consecutive beginning 1998. He appeared in the All-Star game in every season that he played with the Boston Red Sox.
Ramirez was allegedly among a group of 104 major league players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs during 2003. In 2009 he was suspended 50 games for violating baseball's drug policy by taking human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), a women's fertility drug. According to steroid dealer Victor Conte, hCG is often used to restart natural testosterone production after a steroid cycle.
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Marcel Lachemann
Marcel Ernest Lachemann (born June 13, 1941 in Los Angeles, California) is a baseball pitching coach and a former relief pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. Though the 2007 season, he is currently a special assistant to the general manager of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.
After a three-year stint (1969–1971 in the majors, he became the pitching coach for the California Angels in 1984. Lachemann stayed with the Angels until the 1993 season, when he was named pitching coach of the newly formed Florida Marlins by his brother, manager Rene. In 1994, he replaced Buck Rodgers as manager of the Angels. In 1995, the Angels improved markedly and at one point were 11 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners in August, but collapsed and lost a one-game playoff at the end of the season. The Angels never recovered their winning ways, and in August, 1996, he resigned as manager. He later returned to Anaheim as the Anaheim Angels pitching coach under Terry Collins from 1997 to 1998. In the early 2000s he was the Colorado Rockies pitching instructor.
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Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and released her self-titled debut studio album, Mariah Carey. The album went multi-platinum and spawned four consecutive number one singles, on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following her marriage to Mottola in 1993, a series of hit records, including Emotions (1991), Music Box (1993) and Merry Christmas (1994), established her position as Columbia's highest-selling act. Daydream (1995), made music history when the second single, "One Sweet Day" a duet with Boyz II Men, spent a record sixteen weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100, and remains the longest running number one song in US chart history. During the recording of the album Carey began to deviate from her pop background, and slowly traversed into R&B and Hip-hop. After her separation from Mottola, this musical change was evident with the release of Butterfly (1997).
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Mariano Duncan
Mariano Duncan Nalasco (born March 13, 1963 in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic) is a retired second baseman and shortstop who played for several Major League Baseball teams during his 12 year career. He was the infield coach and 1st base coach for the Los Angeles Dodgers under Managers Grady Little and Joe Torre. Mariano currently serves as the hitting coach for the Tennessee Smokies, the Chicago Cubs' Double AA team.
Duncan was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers as an undrafted free agent on January 7, 1982. He played in the Dodgers minor league system for three seasons with the Lethbridge Dodgers in 1982, Vero Beach Dodgers in 1983 and San Antonio Dodgers in 1984. He stole 56 bases for Vero Beach and 41 bases for San Antonio. He made his major league debut, starting at second base, for the Dodgers on April 9, 1985 against the Houston Astros, and was 0 for 4 in his debut. He got his first major league hit on April 10 against Astros pitcher Joe Niekro.
He stole 38 bases in his rookie season and finished third in the rookie of the year voting.
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Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian right-handed baseball pitcher who has played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Mo", Rivera has served as a relief pitcher for most of his career, and since 1997, he has been the Yankees' closer. A 12-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, he is MLB's all-time leader in saves (608) and games finished (892). His accolades include five American League (AL) Rolaids Relief Man Awards, the 1999 World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, and the 2003 AL Championship Series MVP Award.
Rivera was signed by the Yankees organization in 1990 as an amateur free agent in Panama, and he debuted in the major leagues in 1995. Initially a starting pitcher, he struggled in the role and was consequently converted to a relief pitcher. After a breakthrough season in 1996 as a setup man, he became the Yankees' closer in 1997. In the following years, he established himself as one of baseball's top relievers, leading the major leagues in saves in 1999, 2001, and 2004. Rivera's presence in the late innings of games to record the final outs has contributed to the Yankees' success in the late-1990s and 2000s, particularly in the postseason where he has set numerous records, including lowest earned run average (ERA) (0.70) and most saves (42). His pitching repertoire consists primarily of one pitch, a sharp-breaking, mid-90s mile per hour (mph) cut fastball that has been called an all-time great pitch.
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Mark Belanger
Mark Henry Belanger (June 8, 1944 – October 6, 1998) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played almost his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles. A defensive standout, he won eight Gold Glove Awards between 1969 and 1978, leading the American League in assists and fielding percentage three times each, and retired with the highest career fielding average by an AL shortstop (.977). He set franchise records for career games, assists and double plays as a shortstop, all of which were later broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. After his playing career, he became an official with the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Belanger was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He was recruited by the Orioles as an amateur in 1962, and made his debut with the club on August 7, 1965.
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Mark DeRosa
Mark Thomas DeRosa (born February 26, 1975) is an American professional baseball utility player with the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball. DeRosa has primarily played second base, but can play other positions, including the outfield; he played six positions for the Chicago Cubs. He bats right-handed.
DeRosa was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 7th round of the June 1996 free agent draft. In his 3,165 career at bats through 2009, he had a .275 batting average, 92 home runs, 869 hits, 484 runs, and 430 RBIs.
DeRosa was born in Passaic, New Jersey. He attended Bergen Catholic High School in Oradell, New Jersey where he earned all-state honors in baseball and in football.
He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the class of 1997, where he started at quarterback in the 1993-95 seasons and played varsity baseball from 1994 to 1996. He was originally pledging The Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity when their charter was revoked. This resulted in his pledging the Sigma Chi Fraternity and in 2009 he was honored by being named a Significant Sig., an award given to Sigma Chis who have achieved distinction in their professional fields of endeavor. DeRosa was also one of six Ivy Leaguers on major league rosters at the beginning of the 2009 season.
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Mark Fidrych
Mark Steven Fidrych ( /ˈfɪdrɨtʃ/; August 14, 1954 – April 13, 2009), nicknamed "The Bird", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers (1976–1980).
In 1976, Fidrych led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA, won the AL Rookie of the Year award, and finished with a 19-9 record.
The son of an assistant school principal, Fidrych played baseball at Algonquin Regional High School in Northborough, Massachusetts, and at Worcester Academy, a day and boarding school in central Massachusetts. In the 1974 amateur draft he was selected in the 10th round by the Detriot Tigers & later joked that when he got a call saying he had been drafted he thought he was drafted into the military not thinking there was any teams looking at him. In the minor leagues one of his coaches with the Lakeland Tigers dubbed the lanky 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher "The Bird" because of his resemblance to the "Big Bird" character of the 1970s Sesame Street television program.
Fidrych made the Tigers as a non-roster invitee out of the 1976 spring training, not making his major-league debut until April 20, and not making his first start until mid-May. He only made that start because the scheduled starting pitcher had the flu. Fidrych responded by throwing six no-hit innings, ending the game with a 2-1 victory in which he gave up only two hits. He went on to win 19 games, led the league in ERA (2.34) and complete games (24), was the starting pitcher in that year's All-Star Game, won the American League Rookie of the Year Award, and finished second in voting for the Cy Young Award.
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Mark McGwire
Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently the hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.
For his career, McGwire averaged a home run once every 10.61 at bats, the lowest at bats per home run ratio in baseball history (Babe Ruth is second at 11.76). In 1987, he broke the single-season home run record for rookies, with 49. In 1998, McGwire and Sammy Sosa achieved national fame for their home run-hitting prowess in pursuit of Roger Maris' single season home run record; McGwire broke the record and hit 70 home runs that year.Barry Bonds now holds the record, after hitting 73 home runs during the 2001 season.
After three years at Southern California and a stint on the 1984 U.S. Olympic team, McGwire was drafted 10th overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 1984 Major League Baseball Draft.
McGwire made the major leagues in August. As a rookie in 1987 he hit 33 homers before the All-Star break and was a unanimous choice for AL Rookie of the Year after finishing with 49 homers, 118 RBI and a .289 average. His 49 longballs smashed the old rookie record of 38, jointly held by Frank Robinson and Wally Berger. He sat out the season's final two games and gave up a chance at 50 home runs to be present at the birth of his first child.
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Mark Prior
Mark William Prior (born September 7, 1980 in San Diego, California) is an American professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Chicago Cubs from 2002-2006 and is currently pitching in low A-Ball for the Boston Red Sox organization. His repertoire of pitches included a mid-90s mph fastball, a curveball, a slurve, and a changeup. He is also best known for a string of injuries that halted his major league career.
Prior graduated from the University of San Diego High School. He was originally drafted by the New York Yankees in the 1998 amateur draft, but they were unable to sign him to a contract.
Prior attended his father's alma mater', Vanderbilt University for his freshman year. He transferred to USC, where he won the Dick Howser Trophy, given annually to the national collegiate baseball player of the year. After becoming a professional baseball player, he continued his education on a part-time basis and received a business degree from USC Marshall School of Business in 2004. He was part of a pitching rotation that also boasted current Cleveland Indians pitcher Anthony Reyes.
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Mark Teixeira
Mark Charles Teixeira ( /teɪˈʃɛrə/ tay-SHERR-ə; born April 11, 1980, in Annapolis, Maryland), nicknamed "Tex" is an American Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees. Primarily a first baseman, he has also played third base and in the outfield. He played college baseball at Georgia Tech, where in 2001 he won the Dick Howser Trophy as the national collegiate baseball player of the year.
Teixeira was drafted in 2001 by the Texas Rangers, and made his MLB debut for them in 2003. In mid-2007 he was traded to the Atlanta Braves, and traded again in mid-2008 to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In December 2008, he agreed to a contract with the New York Yankees. Teixeira has won four Gold Glove Awards and three Silver Slugger Awards. Teixeira also holds the all-time major league record for most games with a home run from both sides of the plate, with 13.
Teixeira grew up in Severna Park, Maryland, and attended Mount Saint Joseph High School in Baltimore, Maryland, where he played for the school's varsity baseball team. Teixeira is Portuguese American. He also has roots in the South American country of Guyana, the country from which his grandfather migrated as a young man.
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Marty Cordova
Martin Keevin "Marty" Cordova [cor-DOH-vuh] (born July 10, 1969 in Las Vegas, Nevada), is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder. He played for the Minnesota Twins (1995–1999), Toronto Blue Jays (2000), Cleveland Indians (2001) and Baltimore Orioles (2002–2003). Before embarking on a major league career, Cordova played six seasons in the minor leagues.
Cordova began his pro career in the minors in 1989 with the Elizabethton Twins of the Appalachian League. After a season in rookie ball Cordova moved up to class A and spent the 1990 season with the Kenosha Twins of the Mid West League. Cordova would then go onto spend the next two seasons with the Visalia Oaks of the California League 1991-1992. After spending three years in class A, Cordova made the move up to double A. In 1993 Cordova joined the Nashville Xpress of the Southern League.
A promising and talented player, Cordova was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 1995. He took the honor over, among others, Garret Anderson, Andy Pettitte, Troy Percival and Shawn Green, after hitting .277 with 24 home runs and 84 RBI for the Twins. His second season saw career-highs in batting average (.309), RBI (111), runs (97) and doubles (46).
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Mary Decker
Mary Slaney (born Mary Teresa Decker August 4, 1958, Bunnvale, Hunterdon County, New Jersey) is an American former track athlete. During her career, she won gold medals in the 1500 meters and 3000 meters at the 1983 World Championships, and set 17 official and unofficial world records and 36 US national records.
Mary Decker was born in Bunnvale, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. A decade later her family moved to Southern California, where Decker started running. A year later, aged 11, she won her first local competition.
She joined her school athletics club and a local track club, and completely immersed herself in running, for which she would pay an injury-laden price later in her career. Aged 12, in one week she completed a marathon and four middle- and long-distance races, ending the week with an appendectomy operation.
In her early teens, Decker was already recognized as a world-class runner. Unable to attend the 1972 Olympics as she was too young, the pigtailed 89 pounds (40 kg) 14 year old nicknamed "Little Mary Decker," won international acclaim in 1973 with a win in the 800 meters at a US-Soviet meet in Minsk, beating the later Olympic silver medallist.
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Mary Lou Retton
Mary Lou Retton (born January 24, 1968) is an American gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. She was the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title.
Retton was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, of Italian heritage (her family's original surname was "Rotunda"). Her father, Ronnie, operated a coal-industry transportation equipment business. She attended Fairmont Senior High School, but did not graduate. She competed in the Olympic games during her sophomore year.
Retton lived in Houston, Texas until 2009, when her family returned to West Virginia. She is married to former Houston real estate developer Shannon Kelley, who now works for the Fairmont State University athletic department. Together they have four daughters: Shayla Rae Kelley (born 1995), McKenna Lane Kelley (born 1997), Skyla Brae Kelley (born 2000), and Emma Jean Kelley (born 2002).
Inspired by watching Nadia Comăneci on television, Retton took up gymnastics in her hometown of Fairmont. She was coached by Gary Rafaloski. She then decided to move to Houston, Texas, to train under Romanians Béla and Márta Károlyi, who had coached Nadia Comăneci before their defection to the United States. Under the Károlyis, Retton soon began to make a name for herself in the United States, winning the American Cup in 1983 and placing second to Dianne Durham (another Károlyi student) at the US Nationals that same year. Retton missed the World Championships in 1983 due to a wrist injury. Nevertheless, Retton won the American Classic in 1983 and 1984, as well as Japan's Chunichi Cup in 1983.
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Matt Antonelli
Matthew Antonio Antonelli (born April 8, 1985 in Peabody, Massachusetts) is an American professional baseball second baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws right-handed.
Antonelli was the Massachusetts Player of the Year in both football and hockey, and was a runner-up for baseball in his senior year at St. John's Prep.
Antonelli attended Wake Forest University, where he played college baseball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. In college, Antonelli displayed good plate discipline, walking 57 times as a sophomore, ranking seventh among collegiate hitters. He only struck out 38 times in 232 at bats, giving him one of the best strikeout-to-walk ratios in the nation.
Antonelli was originally drafted as a third baseman by the San Diego Padres with the 17th pick of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. He had previously been drafted in the 19th round of the 2003 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers but did not sign.
In July 2007, Antonelli was named the best second base prospect in the minors by Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus. In November 2007, Antonelli was ranked as the #1 second base prospect and #27 overall in baseball, on a list polling 20 members of the scouting community and compiled by Jonathan Mayo of minorleaguebaseball.com
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Matt Drews
Matthew Ross Drews (born August 29, 1974) is a former a minor league baseball pitcher.
Drews played high school baseball at Sarasota High School, where he had a 10-2 win-loss record with a 1.27 earned run average (ERA) his senior high year, with 125 strikeouts in 88 innings pitched. He signed a letter of intent with the University of Texas at Austin.
Drews was considered by Baseball America to be the top high school pitcher available in the 1993 Major League Baseball Draft. The Yankees selected Drews in the first round, thirteenth overall. He signed late, for a $620,000 bonus, and did not play for the Yankees system that year.
Assigned to the Oneonta Yankees in 1994, Drews went 7-6 with a 2.10 ERA, walked 19 and struck out 69 in 90 frames. Drews led the New York-Penn League in ERA and was selected as the 2nd-best prospect in the league by managers.[citation needed] With the Tampa Yankees in 1995, Drews won 15 of 22 decisions and posted a 2.27 ERA. He led the league in wins, innings (182) and starts (28), was second in strikeouts (140) and third in ERA. Managers again picked him as the #2 prospect (behind Scott Rolen). He made the Florida State League All-Star team as one of the top two right-handed pitchers; Shane Bowers was the other.[citation needed]
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Matt Holliday
Matthew Thomas Holliday (born January 15, 1980), is an American Major League Baseball left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Holliday was originally drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the seventh round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft.
Holliday is a five-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner. He was the runner-up in the National League MVP voting for the 2007 Major League Baseball season. He won the 2007 National League Championship Series MVP as he helped guide the Rockies to their first-ever National League pennant and World Series appearance.
Holliday was recruited out of Stillwater High School, in Oklahoma to play quarterback at Oklahoma State, but he chose to sign with the Colorado Rockies and was signed by scout Pat Daugherty. As a senior, Holiday earned All-American honors in football and baseball and also earned his region's Gatorade Player of the Year award in both sports. He also competed for the 1997 USA Junior National Team.
On December 14, 2007, Holliday had his #24 high school jersey retired in a ceremony at Stillwater High School. Businesses in Stillwater were also asked to honor Holliday that day by posting a "Welcome Home Matt Holliday" message on a marquee or window.
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Matt Kemp
Matthew Ryan "Matt" Kemp (born September 23, 1984, in Midwest City, Oklahoma) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kemp was drafted by the Dodgers in the 6th round of the 2003 draft and made his major league debut in 2006. In 2011, Kemp led the National League in runs scored (115), total bases (353), OPS+ (171), WAR (10.0), home runs (39), and runs batted in (115). Additionally, he became the first player to finish in the top two in both home runs and steals since Hank Aaron in 1963.
Kemp attended Midwest City High School, where he was a standout in basketball and baseball. He was teammates with Shelden Williams on the varsity basketball team that won the state title their junior year.
Kemp, along with Williams and three other teammates, was accused of raping a 19-year-old woman at the time of a high school all-star basketball tournament on January 20, 2002, at the Columbus, Ohio Hyatt hotel. The players were suspended from the team during the investigation. The woman did not press charges, and the district attorney opted to not pursue the matter due to a lack of evidence.
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Matt Lindstrom
Matthew Raymond Lindstrom (born February 11, 1980) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball.
Lindstrom played college baseball at Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho).
Lindstrom was selected by the New York Mets in the 10th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his professional debut at Rookie League Kingsport and posted an 0-6 record with a 4.84 ERA in twelve games with eleven games as a starting pitcher. He began next year at Single-A Capital City and was dominant, as his 2.86 ERA and 7.94 K/9 rate showed. This earned him a promotion to Brooklyn where Lindstrom would finish out the 2003 season well, as he compiled a 7-3 record with a 3.44 ERA.
In 2004, Lindstrom was promoted to St. Lucie where, at 24, he compiled a 5-5 record with a 3.73 ERA in fourteen starts. His walk rate was staggering, however, at 2.26 BB/9. The righty found himself back at Capital City midway through the season, where his numbers improved slightly, as he posted a 3-2 record with a 3.21 ERA and much-improved control, with a 1.61 BB/9.
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Matt Wieters
Matthew Richard Wieters (born May 21, 1986) is a Major League Baseball catcher for the Baltimore Orioles. Wieters was drafted fifth overall in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. Wieters played college baseball for Georgia Tech, and his agent is Scott Boras. Wieters is a tall athletic hitter, standing 6 feet 5 inches tall. His ability to hit for power from both sides of the plate has drawn comparisons to Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek.
Wieters was born on May 21, 1986 in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Wieters played high school baseball at Stratford High School in Goose Creek, South Carolina. He played under Coach John Chalus, where Matt led the Knights to the AAAA state championship series. Wieters' high school team also featured Justin Smoak.
Wieters was a multi-talented star who earned numerous honors throughout his college career. He is one of just three players in Georgia Tech history to earn first-team All-America honors on at least two occasions. He was named a first-team All-America by Rivals.com and first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference in 2007, first-team All-America by Baseball America and second-team All-ACC in 2006, and the ACC Rookie of the Year, Freshman All-America and first-team All-ACC in 2005.[citation needed]
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Matt Winters
Matthew Littleton Winters (born March 18. 1960) is a former major league baseball player from Buffalo, New York. He played with the Kansas City Royals, and the Nippon Ham Fighters in Nippon Professional Baseball.
Winters was drafted by the New York Yankees in the first round of the 1978 amateur draft, and spent most of his career in the minor leagues. He was released by the Yankees in 1985, and signed with the Chicago White Sox, before being returned to the Yankees in a trade for cash and several minor league players. He signed with the Kansas City Royals in 1987, and made his major league debut in 1989 with the Royals. He played in 42 games in 1989 before being released at the end of the season.
He signed with the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japanese Pacific League in 1990, and quickly emerged as the team's best power hitter, hitting over 30 home runs each of his first four seasons in Japan. He recorded the second most home runs in the league for three consecutive years, behind Orestes Destrade. He also attracted attention from fans for his avid personality; he frequently participated in between-inning dance performances, and performed magic tricks whenever a game was stopped due to rain. His antics and clutch hitting made him one of the most popular players in the league. He dropped to 22 home runs in 1994, and announced his retirement during the off-season.
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Maury Wills
Maurice Morning "Maury" Wills (born October 2, 1932) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and switch-hitting batter who played most prominently with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1959–66, 1969–72), and also with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1967–68) and Montreal Expos (1969). He was an essential component of the Dodgers' championship teams in the mid-1960s, and is credited for reviving the stolen base as part of baseball strategy.
In a career of 14 seasons, Wills batted .281 with 20 home runs, 458 runs batted in, 2,134 hits, 1,067 runs, 177 doubles, 71 triples, and 586 stolen bases in 1,942 games.
As of 2009, Wills is a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization serving as a representative of the Dodgers Legend Bureau.
Maurice, or Sonny as he was called at Cardozo Senior High School, first showed up as an All City Pitcher in the local Washington Daily News. He played on Sal Hall's '48 Cardozo football team that went unbeaten and unscored on. In the '49–'50 school year, 3 sport standout Sonny Wills, was named All City QB in football, basketball and Pitcher in baseball. On May 8, 1950 in a game against Phelps, P Wills threw a 1-hitter and struck out 17.
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Mel Stottlemyre
Melvin Leon Stottlemyre, Sr. (born November 13, 1941 in Hazleton, Missouri) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and pitching coach. He played 11 years in the Major Leagues, all of them with the New York Yankees. After his playing career, Stottlemyre worked as pitching coach with the New York Mets, Houston Astros, New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners.
Called up midseason in 1964, Stottlemyre went 9–3 to help the Yankees to their fifth consecutive pennant while being on the cover of The Sporting News. In the World Series, Stottlemyre faced Bob Gibson three times in a seven-game Series. Stottlemyre bested Gibson in Game 2 to even the series, and got a no-decision in Game 5, but lost the decisive Game 7 as the Cardinals won the Series. A sinker-ball specialist, Stottlemyre would pitch 10 more seasons with the Yankees, winning 164 games, including three 20-win seasons; but although the 1964 Series marked the Yankees' 29th pennant in 44 seasons, the ensuing decade would be the franchise's lowest period since the 1910s, with the Yankees not reaching the postseason at all. Stottlemyre was released by the Yankees after the 1974 season with a rotator-cuff injury, and he retired from playing.
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Melky Cabrera
Melky Astacio Cabrera (born August 11, 1984) is a Dominican professional baseball player. An outfielder, he currently plays for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball.
Cabrera was signed by the New York Yankees on November 14, 2001, at age 17. In 2002, at age 18, he made his professional debut with the Yankees Rookie League affiliate in the Dominican Summer League.
He made his first minor league appearance with the Rookie-Advanced team in the NY Penn League with the Staten Island Yankees in 2003, batting .283 with 31 RBIs in 67 games. In 2004, he moved up to Class A with the Battle Creek Yankees, hitting .333 with 16 RBI in 42 games before being promoted to the high Class A Tampa Yankees, where he hit .288 with 51 RBI in 85 games to finish the season.
In 2005, Cabrera started off with the Class AA Trenton Thunder, hitting .275 with 60 RBIs in 106 games. At the end of June, he was called up to the Class AAA Columbus Clippers. On July 7, Cabrera made his major league debut in center field at Yankee Stadium against the Cleveland Indians. His first at bat against Kevin Millwood resulted in a strikeout. He collected his first major league hit, a single, to left field, in his third at bat to a standing ovation. The next day, he went 2-for-3 against Cleveland Indians pitcher Cliff Lee, scoring his first major league run. Cabrera would go 0-for-his next 13 and make a costly miscue in center on July 15 against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, misplaying a Trot Nixon fly ball that resulted in an inside-the-park homer during a 17–1 defeat. He was sent down to Class AAA Columbus the next day for 17 games, and then demoted back to Class AA Trenton Thunder to finish out the season.
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Melky Mesa
Melquisedec Mesa (born January 31, 1987 in Bajos de Haina, Dominican Republic) is a outfielder in the New York Yankees organization.
He was added to the Yankees 40-man roster on November 2, 2010.
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Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed athletes of his generation and was considered instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s.
After a three-season career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His leaping ability, illustrated by performing slam dunks from the free throw line in slam dunk contests, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993, securing a "three-peat". Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but returned for two more NBA seasons from 2001 to 2003 as a member of the Washington Wizards.
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Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps (born June 30, 1985) is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions. In doing so he has twice equaled the record eight medals of any type at a single Olympics achieved by Soviet gymnast Alexander Dityatin at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games. His five gold medals in individual events tied the single Games record set by compatriot Eric Heiden in the 1980 Winter Olympics and equaled by Vitaly Scherbo at the 1992 Summer Games. Phelps holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics; his eight at the 2008 Beijing Games surpassed American swimmer Mark Spitz's seven-gold performance at Munich in 1972. Phelps' Olympic medal total is second only to the 18 Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina won over three Olympics, including nine gold. Phelps also holds the all-time record for most gold Olympic medals, at 14.
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Michael Pineda
Michael Francisco Pineda (born January 18, 1989) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He signed as an international free agent with the Seattle Mariners in 2005, and made his MLB debut for the Mariners in 2011. In his rookie season, Pineda was named an All-Star and finished fifth in balloting for American League Rookie of the Year. After his rookie season, he was traded to the Yankees.
Pineda is listed at 6 feet 7 inches (2.01 m) and 260 pounds (120 kg). His fastball in 2011 averaged 94.7 miles per hour (152.4 km/h), which was the highest among MLB rookies with at least 100 innings pitched, and fourth overall in MLB.
Pineda signed with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB) at age 16 on December 12, 2005. He made his professional debut with the Mariners of the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League (DSL) in 2006, pitching to a 2–1 win-loss record with a 0.44 earned run average (ERA), allowing only one earned run all season. In 2007, he had a 6–1 record with a 2.29 ERA in regular action for the DSL Mariners. Pineda pitched for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Class-A Midwest League in 2008 and had a 8–6 record with a 1.95 ERA. Opponents had a batting average of .216 against Pineda. He led the Seattle farm system in ERA, opponent average and strikeouts (128). Baseball America rated Pineda as the Mariners' tenth best prospect while the Mariners organization named him their Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Wisconsin pitching coach Jaime Navarro became Pineda's mentor.
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Mick Kelleher
Michael Dennis Kelleher (born July 25, 1947) is the first base coach for the New York Yankees. He succeeded Tony Peña, who became the bench coach.
In 11 seasons, Kelleher was an infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals (1972–73 and 1975), Houston Astros (1974), Chicago Cubs (1976–80), Detroit Tigers (1981–82) and California Angels (1982). He was a member of the 1982 AL Western Division Champions, playing mostly shortstop and hitting .163 in 49 at bats. He did not appear in the playoffs. Playing in 622 games, Kelleher recorded a career .213 batting average in 1,081 at bats. He is the most recently retired non-pitcher to have more than 1,000 at-bats and no home runs.
Kelleher has consistently worked in major league baseball since retiring as a player. He has been a minor league coach and a scout. He also served as a first base coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1986 and for the Detroit Tigers from 2003 to 2005. Prior to being named first base coach for the Yankees, he was a defensive coordinator for the Yankees’ minor league system. His main assignment with the Yankees will be to monitor the development of Robinson Cano, who he coached in the minor leagues.
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Mickey Lolich
Michael Stephen Lolich (born September 12, 1940) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from 1962 until 1979, most notably for the Detroit Tigers. Lolich is best known for his performance in the 1968 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals when he won three victories, including a victory over Bob Gibson in the climactic Game 7. Mickey Lolich is of Croat origin.
Lolich was signed by the Detroit Tigers as an amateur free agent in 1958. After spending five seasons in the minor leagues, he made his major league debut with the Tigers on May 12, 1963 at the age of 22. Lolich blossomed in 1964, winning 18 games and 192 strikeouts in his first full season in the major leagues. In 1965, he posted a 14-14 won-loss record, but improved to 226 strikeouts, second best in the American League behind Sam McDowell.
In 1967, the Tigers hired former major league pitcher, Johnny Sain, as their pitching coach. Sain helped develop Lolich's pitching skills and taught him the psychology of pitching. The 1967 season was a memorable one due to the tight four-way pennant race between the Tigers, the Boston Red Sox, the Minnesota Twins and the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers remained in the pennant race until the final day of the season, finishing one game behind the Red Sox. Lolich finished the season with a 14-14 record, but led the league with 6 shutouts.
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Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995) was an American baseball center fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 and was elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999.
Mantle was noted for his hitting ability, both for average and for power.[citation needed] He won the Triple Crown in 1956, leading MLB in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI). He received three American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Awards and played in twenty All-Star games. Mantle appeared in 12 World Series, winning 7 of them. He holds the records for most World Series home runs (18), RBIs (40), runs (42), walks (43), extra-base hits (26), and total bases (123). He is also the career leader in walk-off home runs, with a combined thirteen, twelve in the regular season and one in the postseason.
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Miguel Tejada
Miguel Odalis Tejada (born on May 25, 1974, in Baní, Dominican Republic) is a Major League Baseball infielder in the Baltimore Orioles organization. He began his first six seasons of his career with the A's, where he began his streak of 1,152 consecutive games, that ended with the Orioles on June 22, 2007. In 2002, he was awarded the AL MVP award, and he was the MVP of the 2005 All-Star Game.
His nickname is "La Guagua" which means "the bus" in certain Spanish dialects, as Tejada was known for his ability to drive in runs. On February 11, 2009, he pleaded guilty to one count of perjury for lying to Congress in his testimony on whether or not Rafael Palmeiro lied about his steroid use.
Tejada grew up in extreme poverty in Baní, a city approximately 40 miles (65 km) southwest of Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic. Miguel Tejada grew up idolizing the Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. Miguel Tejada's rise from the slums of Baní through the minors and into the Major Leagues is chronicled in the book Away Games: The Life and Times of a Latin Ballplayer by Marcos Breton and Jose Luis Villegas. Away Games describes the struggles of Dominican players in general and Tejada in particular as they arrive in the U.S. speaking very little English often in small towns playing for minor league teams with dreams of making it big.
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Mike Bielecki
Michael Joseph Bielecki (born July 31, 1959 in Baltimore, Maryland) was a professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1984–1997.
He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round (8th pick) of the 1979 amateur draft (Secondary Phase). He made his debut on September 14, 1984.
In 1989, he won a career high 18 games for the Cubs.Nicknamed the Polish Prince By Harry Caray
In 1993, as an Indian, Bielecki had been invited to join Steve Olin, Tim Crews and Bob Ojeda on a fishing boat in spring training, but declined. The subsequent crash of the boat killed Olin and Crews, and nearly killed Ojeda.
Appeared in the 1996 World Series as a member of the Braves. His final game was on August 16, 1997.
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Mike Hargrove
Dudley Michael Hargrove (born October 26, 1949, in Perryton, Texas) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. He is currently employed as an advisor with the Cleveland Indians. Hargrove batted and threw left-handed. He played for the Texas Rangers (1974–78), San Diego Padres (1979), and Cleveland Indians (1979–85). After retiring, he went on to manage the Indians, Baltimore Orioles, and Seattle Mariners.
During his 12-year playing career, Hargrove batted .290 with 80 home runs and 686 runs batted in. He won both the AL Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year awards in 1974, after hitting a career-high .323 with the Rangers (he was the first Ranger ever to be so honored). Afterwards, he made the AL All-Star squad in 1975 and led the league first basemen in assists twice. He was most effective in getting on base, moving runners, and not giving up an easy out—unusual for a first baseman which is usually considered a power position.
Though he would later be honored as one of the Cleveland Indians' top 100 players in team history, one of Hargrove's early visits to Cleveland was less than memorable. As a rookie with the Rangers, Hargrove was one of the early targets of Cleveland fans during the infamous Ten Cent Beer Night incident on June 4, 1974.
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Mike Harkey
Michael Anthony Harkey (born October 25, 1966, in San Diego, California) is a former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball and the current bullpen coach for the New York Yankees. During June 2010, Harkey served as the Yankee pitching coach while Dave Eiland was on leave for personal reasons.
Harkey played at California State University, Fullerton. He was a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Cubs in the 1987 Major League Baseball Draft.
Harkey played for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, California Angels, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, appearing in 131 games. In 1990 he finished the season with a record of 12–6 with a 3.26 earned run average. Harkey played in the majors in 1988, 1990 through 1995, and then 1997 before retiring. He was plagued by shoulder and arm injuries throughout his early career with the Cubs. On September 6, 1992, during pregame warmups, he attempted a cartwheel in the Wrigley Field outfield, severely damaging his knee.
Harkey served as pitching coach for the Iowa Cubs before joining the Yankees.
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Mike Krzyzewski
Michael William "Mike" Krzyzewski ( /ʃəˈʃɛvski/ shə-SHEV-ski; Polish: Krzyżewski [kʂɨˈʐɛ(f)ski]; nicknamed "Coach K"; born February 13, 1947) is an American basketball coach and former player. Since 1980, he has served as the head men's basketball coach at Duke University. At Duke, Krzyzewski has led the Blue Devils to four NCAA Championships, 11 Final Fours, 12 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular season titles, and 13 ACC Tournament championships. Krzyzewski is also the coach of the United States men's national basketball team, whom he led to a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2010 FIBA World Championship. He was an assistant coach on the 1992 "Dream Team".
From 1975 to 1980, Krzyzewski was the head basketball coach at the United States Military Academy, where he played from 1966 to 1969 under Bob Knight. Krzyzewski has amassed a record 79 NCAA tournament victories, while averaging 25 wins per season. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame following the 2001 season. On November 15, 2011, Krzyzewski led Duke to a 74–69 victory over Michigan State at Madison Square Garden to become the winningest coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball history. Krzyzewski's 903rd victory surpassed the previous record of 902, held by his former coach, Bob Knight.
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Mike Lowell
Michael Averett Lowell (born February 24, 1974) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball third baseman. During a 13-year career, Lowell played for the New York Yankees (1998), Florida Marlins (1999–2005), and the Boston Red Sox (2006–2010). With the Red Sox, he was named World Series MVP of the 2007 World Series for batting .400 with 1 HR, 4 RBI, 6 runs scored and a stolen base in the four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies.
Mike was born in Puerto Rico to Carl and Beatriz Lowell on February 24, 1974. His parents were born in Cuba, and are of Irish and Spanish ancestry. His family relocated to Miami, Florida when Lowell was four years old. He has always identified himself as a Puerto Rican. As a high school sophomore, he was chosen to play for the varsity baseball team at Christopher Columbus High School, but did not get playing time, so he transferred to Coral Gables for his junior year.
In 1992, Lowell graduated from Coral Gables Senior High School in Coral Gables, Florida, where he had a 4.0 GPA and was a star player on the baseball team. There, he met future wife Bertica, a member of the school's nationally recognized Gablettes dance team, of which she became coach years later. They have one daughter, Alexis Ileana Lowell, and one son named Anthony.
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Mike Mussina
Michael Cole Mussina (born December 8, 1968), nicknamed Moose, is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher. Mussina played for the Baltimore Orioles (1991–2000) and the New York Yankees (2001–2008).
Mussina spent his entire career in the competitive and high-scoring American League East, won at least 11 games in 17 consecutive seasons – an American League record – and recorded a career .638 winning percentage. Among pitchers, he ranks 33rd in all-time wins (270), 33rd in games started (535), 66th in innings pitched (3,562.2), and 19th in strikeouts (2,813). A five-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner, Mussina's consistency resulted in six top-five finishes in the voting for his league's Cy Young Award.
Mussina was born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. At Montoursville Area High School in Montoursville, Pennsylvania he had a 24–4 record with a 0.87 ERA for his baseball team. He also excelled in football and basketball.
As a high school senior, Mussina just missed being the valedictorian of his graduating class. According to some reports, he intentionally came up short to avoid delivering a commencement speech.
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Mike Piazza
Michael Joseph Piazza ( /piːˈɑːtsə/ or /piːˈɑːzə/);[which?] born September 4, 1968) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. He played in his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, San Diego Padres and the Oakland Athletics.
A 12-time All-Star, Piazza is often regarded as one of the best-hitting catchers of all time and holds the record for home runs hit by a catcher with 396, with a career total of 427. He had at least one RBI in 15 consecutive games for the New York Mets in 2000, the second-longest RBI streak ever (Ray Grimes of the Chicago Cubs had 17 consecutive games in 1922).
Piazza was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, the second-oldest son of Vince and Veronica, with brothers Vince Jr., Danny, Derek, Tony, and Tommy. Vince Piazza earned a fortune of more than $100 million in used cars and real estate, and attempted several times to purchase a Major League Baseball franchise. When the Dodgers—managed by Vince Piazza's childhood friend Tommy Lasorda, Tony Piazza's godfather—visited Philadelphia, Piazza visited the Dodger clubhouse and served as a batboy in the dugout.
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Mike Schmidt
Michael Jack Schmidt (born September 27, 1949) is a Hall of Fame third baseman, widely considered as the greatest at the position in the history of Major League Baseball. He played his entire career for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Schmidt had an unusual batting stance, turning his back somewhat to the pitcher and shaking his derrière while waiting for the pitch. By standing far back in the batter's box, he made it impossible to jam him by pitching inside. Schmidt was one of the best athletes of his time; teammate Pete Rose once said, "To have his body, I'd trade him mine and my wife's, and I'd throw in some cash."
Upon graduation from Fairview High School in Dayton, Ohio in 1967, Schmidt attended Ohio University in Athens, where he joined Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. Schmidt led the Ohio Bobcats baseball team to the College World Series in 1970, and was drafted by the Phillies in the second round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft with the 30th overall pick.
On June 11, 1971, he was signed by scout Tony Lucadello, who had followed him since Little League Baseball. Six days later, Schmidt made his professional debut in an exhibition game between the Phillies and the Reading Phillies in Reading. Schmidt played the whole game at shortstop for the Phillies and hit a game-winning home run against Reading. Along with shortstop and third base, Schmidt also played some second base in the minors.
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Mike Timlin
Michael August Timlin ( /ˈtɪmlɪn/; born March 10, 1966, in Midland, Texas) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball.
Timlin was born in Midland, Texas to Jerome Francis Timlin Sr. and Nancy Sharon Beyer. Timlin graduated from Midland High School in Midland, Texas. He then attended and pitched at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta.
Timlin was known for his 93 MPH fastball.[citation needed] His sliders and sinkers had a downward break, inducing a significant number of ground balls. Timlin assisted on the final out of 1992 World Series in Game 6 by fielding a bunt by Atlanta Braves outfielder Otis Nixon and throwing to Joe Carter at first base. Timlin also recorded a save for the game. Joe Carter gave Timlin the game ball shortly after the play was made.
Timlin did not allow a run during the 2003 postseason.
In 2004, Timlin made 76 pitching appearances, the third-most in Red Sox history and tied for fourth in American League history. On September 3, he made his 800th major league appearance, becoming only the 29th pitcher in major league history to reach that mark. Timlin made his 1,000th career appearance on August 31, 2007, against the Baltimore Orioles.
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Mike Trout
Michael Nelson Trout (born August 7, 1991 in Millville, New Jersey) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball. He debuted with the Angels in 2011.
Trout was considered to be one of the top prospects in all of baseball and was named the second best overall prospect by Baseball America, during their midseason update in July 2010. Prior to the 2011 season, Trout was ranked #1 by ESPN's Keith Law in his 2011 top 100 prospects list. MLB's Jonathan Mayo also named Trout the #1 prospect in all of baseball during MLB Network's airing of MLB's Top 50 Prospects.
Trout's father, Jeff Trout, was a fifth round draft pick by the Minnesota Twins in 1983. Trout began playing baseball in Little League.
Trout attended Millville Senior High School in Millville, New Jersey. Initially a shortstop, Trout shifted to the outfield during his senior year. That year, he hit 18 home runs, a New Jersey high school record.
Trout committed to attend East Carolina University on a baseball scholarship. Though scouted by MLB teams, Trout was passed over by teams in the draft as players from New Jersey typically do not play baseball throughout the year, as they do in warmer states such as California, Texas, and Florida.
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Minka Kelly
Minka Dumont Kelly (born Minka Dumont Dufay; June 24, 1980) is an American actress. She starred in the NBC series Friday Night Lights as Lyla Garrity, the 2011 film The Roommate, and the ill-fated reboot of the 1970s television series Charlie's Angels. She made several appearances in the first two seasons of Parenthood.
Kelly was born in Los Angeles. She is the only child of former Aerosmith guitarist Rick Dufay and Maureen Dumont Kelly, an exotic dancer and single mother, and the granddaughter of actor and investment advisor Richard Ney. Kelly and her mother often moved to different communities, before settling in Albuquerque, New Mexico by the time Kelly was in junior high school. During a Craig Ferguson interview, she stated that she is of French descent on her father's side and Irish descent on her mother's side.
When Kelly was 19, after graduating from Valley High School in Albuquerque, Kelly returned to Los Angeles. While on a test shoot for a modeling agency, she was approached by a former Playboy Playmate interested in managing her, and who placed Kelly as a receptionist at a surgeon's office who would provide Kelly breast augmentation in exchange for hours worked. She ultimately decided against the procedure, leading to her being fired. However, the exposure to the medical field prompted her to attend school for a year to become a surgeon's assistant; afterward, she worked as a scrub tech. She spent four years in that vocation while also auditioning as an actress before landing the new NBC television drama Friday Night Lights, based on the high school football movie of that name. In the interim, she had small roles in movies and shows, including the film State's Evidence, and a recurring guest role on the TV sitcom What I Like About You.
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Moisés Alou
Moisés Rojas Alou (English /ˈmɔɪzɨs əˈluː/; Spanish: [moiˈses aˈlo.u]; born July 3, 1966 in Atlanta, Georgia) is a former Dominican-American outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 17 seasons in the National League. In 1,942 career games, Alou had a batting average of .303 with 2,134 hits, 421 doubles, 332 home runs, and 1,287 runs batted in. Because of his status as a five-tool player and his excellent career numbers, Alou is considered by many to be one of the best outfielders of the 1990s and 2000s.
His father Felipe, who managed Moises with the Expos from 1992 to 1996 and the Giants from 2005 to 2006, as well as uncles Matty and Jesús, and cousin Mel Rojas, all had long careers in Major League Baseball. As of 2008, he was one of four active major leaguers (along with Prince Fielder, Ken Griffey, Jr., and Daryle Ward) to hit 20 home runs in a season whose fathers had also hit 20 home runs in an MLB season. Alou is married to Austria Alou; they have three sons: Percio, Kirby and Moisés Jr.
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Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; January 17, 1942) is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist. Considered a cultural icon, Ali was both idolized and vilified.
Originally known as Cassius Clay, Ali changed his name after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, subsequently converting to Sunni Islam in 1975, and more recently practicing Sufism.[clarification needed] In 1967, three years after Ali had won the World Heavyweight Championship, he was publicly vilified for his refusal to be conscripted into the U.S. military, based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. Ali stated, "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong... No Viet Cong ever called me nigger" – one of the more telling remarks of the era.
Widespread protests against the Vietnam War had not yet begun, but with that one phrase, Ali articulated the reason to oppose the war for a generation of young Americans, and his words served as a touchstone for the racial and antiwar upheavals that would rock the 1960s. Ali's example inspired Martin Luther King Jr. – who had been reluctant to alienate the Johnson Administration and its support of the civil rights agenda – to voice his own opposition to the war for the first time.
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Nap Lajoie
Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (English pronunciation: /ˈlæʒəweɪ/; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie, was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. He was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. In his career as a second baseman, he was considered one of the greatest players of the fledgling American League in the early 20th century, and the most serious of Ty Cobb's challengers.
Lajoie was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.
Lajoie started his career in the National League with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1896. In 1901, in response to a league-wide salary cap of $2,400 per year, he jumped to the crosstown Philadelphia Athletics, owned by former Phillies' part-owner Benjamin Shibe and managed by Connie Mack. Lajoie's batting average that year was .426. That same year Lajoie became the second Major Leaguer to be intentionally walked with the bases loaded after Abner Dalrymple in 1881. Only four other players have done it since: Del Bissonette in 1928, Bill Nicholson in 1944, Barry Bonds in 1998, and Josh Hamilton in 2008.
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Neftalí Feliz
Neftalí Feliz Antonio (English pronunciation: /nɛfˈtɑːli fɛˈliːs/; born May 2, 1988) is a Dominican right-handed starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball. Feliz was the Rangers best prospect according to Baseball America, and one of the top five pitching prospects in baseball at the start of 2010. His best pitch is his fastball, which consistently hits the upper-90s and can reach triple digits.
Feliz was signed by the Atlanta Braves as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic in 2005. On July 31, 2007 he was traded from the Braves to the Texas Rangers along with Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Matt Harrison, Beau Jones, and Elvis Andrus for Mark Teixeira and Ron Mahay.
Feliz was called up to the majors for the first time on August 2, 2009. He made his debut on August 3, striking out four in two scoreless innings. He finished the season with a 1–0 record and a 1.74 earned run average in 20 games, with 39 strikeouts and two saves in 31 innings pitched.
After two blown saves by Frank Francisco to start the 2010 baseball season, Feliz was promoted to closer to replace Francisco.
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Nick Swisher
Nicholas Thompson "Nick" Swisher (born November 25, 1980) is an outfielder and first baseman for the New York Yankees. Swisher is a switch hitter who throws left-handed. He has played for the Oakland Athletics (2004–2007), Chicago White Sox (2008), and New York Yankees (2009–present). With the Yankees, he won the 2009 World Series and was an All-Star in 2010.
Swisher is the son of former MLB catcher Steve Swisher, who played for various National League baseball clubs in the 1970s and 1980s. Swisher was born in Columbus, Ohio, but grew up in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Prior to his professional career, Swisher played college baseball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Nick Swisher is the son of Steve Swisher, a former major leaguer of German descent, and an Italian mother Rebecca. Swisher's parents divorced when he was 11 years old. He then went to live with his grandparents, who cared for him throughout his teenage years. He has said many times that his grandmother was the closest person to him and because of her, he has a great life and career in baseball. Swisher honors his grandparents, who have passed away, by looking up at the sky before every single pitch.
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Nomar Garciaparra
Anthony Nomar Garciaparra ( /ˈnoʊmɑr ɡɑrˌsiːəˈpɑrə/; born July 23, 1973, in Whittier, California) is a former Major League Baseball player and current ESPN analyst. After playing parts of 9 seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played third base, first base, and designated hitter for the Oakland Athletics, first base and third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and shortstop and third base for the Chicago Cubs. He is one of 13 players in Major League history to hit two grand slams during a single game, and the only player to achieve the feat at his home stadium.
Garciaparra attended St. Mary's of the Assumption School in Whittier, California for elementary school; for high school he attended St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, where he excelled in football, soccer, and baseball, and had a 3.9 GPA. His teams won high school league championships in 1990–91, and he won the league MVP honors in 1991, his last year of high school. St. John Bosco High School retired Garciaparra's baseball jersey. St. John Bosco High School's Activities Office window is home to an area dedicated to Garciaparra's baseball career both at the school and with the Dodgers.
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Omar Vizquel
Omar Enrique Vizquel González (Spanish pronunciation: [oˈmar βisˈkel]; born April 24, 1967 in Caracas, Venezuela), nicknamed "Little O", is a Venezuelan Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman for the Toronto Blue Jays. Vizquel has played for the Seattle Mariners (1989–1993), Cleveland Indians (1994–2004), San Francisco Giants (2005–2008), Texas Rangers (2009) Chicago White Sox (2010–2011), and Toronto Blue Jays (2012). In Venezuela he played with the team Leones del Caracas.
Vizquel is considered one of baseball's all-time best fielding shortstops, winning nine consecutive Gold Gloves (1993–2001) and two more in 2005 and 2006. He tied Cal Ripken, Jr.'s AL record, since surpassed, for most consecutive games at shortstop without an error (95, between September 26, 1999 and July 21, 2000). Currently, his .985 career fielding percentage is the highest of all-time for a shortstop in Major League history. On May 25, 2008, Vizquel became the all-time leader in games played at shortstop, passing Luis Aparicio. Vizquel is the all-time leader in double plays made while playing shortstop. He has the most hits recorded by any player from Venezuela (2,842; 45th all-time, as of April 18, 2012), surpassing Aparicio's record of 2,677 on June 25, 2009. On May 24, 2010, Vizquel became the shortstop with the second most hits all time, behind Derek Jeter. Vizquel is the sacrifice hit leader of the live-ball era.
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Orel Hershiser
Orel Leonard Hershiser IV (born September 16, 1958) is an American former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He is currently an analyst for Baseball Tonight and Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN and a professional poker player for PokerStars. In 1988, he won the Gold Glove, Cy Young Award, the NLCS MVP and the World Series MVP with the Dodgers.
Known for his slight frame and fierce competitive spirit, Hershiser was nicknamed "Bulldog" by team manager Tommy Lasorda.
Hershiser was born in Buffalo, New York to Mildred I. Gillman and Orel Leonard Hershiser III. From 1973 to 1975, he participated in ice hockey with the Don Mills Flyers of the Greater Toronto Hockey League. He attended Cherry Hill High School East in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where he was the star pitcher on the school's baseball team. He first caught the attention of pro scouts as a pitcher at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio where he was a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
Hershiser was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 17th round of the 1979 amateur draft and was assigned to their Class A farm team, Clinton Dodgers. He spent four more seasons in the minor leagues with AA San Antonio Dodgers and AAA Albuquerque Dukes before being called up to the major leagues.
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Orlando Cabrera
Orlando Luis Cabrera, nicknamed "O-Cab" and "The OC", (born November 2, 1974) is a Colombian-American former baseball infielder.
He won a World Series championship in 2004 with the Boston Red Sox. He has played for the Montreal Expos, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants. Cabrera is the younger brother of former major leaguer Jolbert Cabrera.
Cabrera won the Gold Glove Award in 2001 and in 2007.
On July 18, 1999, Cabrera popped up to end David Cone's perfect game.
In 2002, he led all major league ballplayers in errors, totaling 29.
In 2003, he finished second among the league shortstops in batting average (.297), slugging percentage (.415), runs batted in (80), and stolen base percentage (24-to-26). In addition, he was one of four Montreal Expos players to have played all 162 games in a season, and the first to do it twice. Also, his 17 home runs that season were the most ever by a shortstop in Expos history.
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Orlando Hernández
Orlando Hernández Pedroso (born October 11, c.1965), nicknamed "El Duque", is a Cuban right-handed former professional baseball pitcher.
His greatest success came as a New York Yankees starter during that team's run of World Series championships in 1998, 1999, and 2000. He also won a championship in 2005 with the Chicago White Sox. He is the half-brother of pitcher Liván Hernández.
Hernández is well known for his extremely high leg kick.
Hernández played for Industriales of Havana in the Cuban National Series, helping the team win that title in 1992 and 1996. He also represented Havana in Selective Series, on teams including Ciudad Habana and Habaneros. He was 126–47 with 3.05 ERA over his ten-year career in the National Series. His career winning percentage in National and Selective Series, .728, is the league record.
Hernández was also a fixture on the Cuba national baseball team, and was part of the gold-winning Olympic team at Barcelona in 1992.
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Ozzie Guillén
Oswaldo José "Ozzie" Guillén Barrios (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡiˈʎen]; born January 20, 1964) is a Venezuelan-American former Major League Baseball player and current manager of the Miami Marlins. He managed the Chicago White Sox from 2004 to 2011 until him and GM Kenny Williams didn't see eye to eye and having the White Sox release their World Series winning coach Born in Ocumare Del Tuy, Venezuela, he played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the White Sox (1985–97), Baltimore Orioles (1998), Atlanta Braves (1998–1999) and Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. As a player, Guillén was regarded for his passion, speed, hustle, intensity and defensive abilities and his ebullient love for the game. In 2005, Guillen became the first Latino manager in major league history to win a World Series.
Guillén was a light-hitting, quick-handed shortstop, emerging from a line of Venezuelan shortstops that included; Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio (both White Sox players), Dave Concepción, and Omar Vizquel (who played for Guillen as a utility player for the White Sox). He was originally signed as a free agent by the San Diego Padres in 1980. In December 1984, he was traded to the Chicago White Sox as part of an eight-player trade, with Tim Lollar, Bill Long and Luis Salazar in exchange for LaMarr Hoyt.
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Ozzie Smith
Osborne Earl "Ozzie" Smith (born December 26, 1954) is an American former baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals from 1978 to 1996. Nicknamed "The Wizard" for his defensive brilliance, Smith set major league records for career assists (8,375) and double plays (1,590) by a shortstop (the latter since broken by Omar Vizquel), as well as the National League (NL) record with 2,511 career games at the position; Smith won the NL Gold Glove Award for play at shortstop for 13 consecutive seasons (1980–1992). A 15-time All-Star, he accumulated 2,460 hits and 580 stolen bases during his career, and won the NL Silver Slugger Award as the best-hitting shortstop in 1987. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2002.
Smith was born in Mobile, Alabama, but his family moved to Watts, Los Angeles when he was six years old. While participating in childhood athletic activities, Smith developed quick reflexes; he went on to play baseball in high school and college, at Los Angeles' Locke High School and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo respectively. Drafted as an amateur player by the Padres, Smith made his major league debut in 1978. He quickly established himself as an outstanding fielder, and later became known for performing backflips on special occasions while taking his position at the beginning of a game. Smith won his first Gold Glove Award in 1980, and made his first All-Star Game appearance in 1981. When conflict with Padres' ownership developed, he was traded to the Cardinals for shortstop Garry Templeton in 1982.
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Pat Borders
Patrick Lance Borders (born May 14, 1963) is an American former catcher in Major League Baseball who is best remembered for being the Most Valuable Player in the 1992 World Series. Borders also won an Olympic Games gold medal with the United States' baseball team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He bats and throws right-handed.
Borders was born in Columbus, Ohio. He attended Lake Wales High School in Lake Wales, Florida and was a standout in both football and baseball. He batted .440 as a junior, and as a senior he batted .510 with a school single season record 10 home runs and 36 RBI. Although he was offered a football/baseball scholarship to Mississippi State University, he turned it down to sign with the Blue Jays, who had drafted him in the sixth round of the 1982 Major League Baseball Draft.
Borders was brought up in the Toronto Blue Jays system and made his major league debut in 1988, playing in 56 games. Over the next few seasons, he earned the full-time position behind the plate, and he was a cornerpiece of the 1992 and 1993 World Series champion teams. In the 1992 Series, he hit .450 with one home run en route to winning the World Series MVP award.
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Pat Listach
Patrick Alan Listach (born September 12, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop, minor league manager and current third base coach for the Chicago Cubs.
Listach attended for the McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, where he played college baseball for the Highlanders. He transferred to Arizona State University, continuing his collegiate career with the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Listach was drafted in the 5th round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Listach's best professional season was in 1992, his rookie year. After being called up from the minor leagues by the Brewers in April, Listach became a vital member of a team that won 92 games and contended for the American League playoffs. Listach's 54 stolen bases in 1992 ranked second only to the total accrued by Kenny Lofton, another prominent rookie from the Cleveland Indians, during that season. Listach would go on to win the 1992 American League Rookie of the Year award.
In 1996 Listach was traded to the New York Yankees along with Graeme Lloyd for outfielder Gerald Williams and pitcher Bob Wickman. Listach was intended to be a backup outfielder, as the Yankees made the trade specifically to acquire Lloyd. Listach, however, had suffered what was first thought to be a bruise two days prior to the trade. The injury turned out to be a broken bone in his foot. The Yankees returned Listach to the Brewers, accepting shortstop Gabby Martinez instead.
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Pat Summitt
Patricia "Pat" Head Summitt (born on June 14, 1952 in Clarksville, Tennessee) is a former women's college basketball head coach. She now serves as the head coach emeritus of the Tennessee Lady Vols basketball team. She is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA basketball history of either a men's or women's team in any division. She coached from 1974 to 2012, all with the Lady Vols, winning eight NCAA national championships, second only to the record 10 titles won by UCLA men's coach John Wooden. Summitt is the only coach in NCAA history, and one of three college coaches overall, with 1,000 victories. She was named the Naismith Basketball Coach of the Century in April 2000. In 2009, the Sporting News placed her number 11 on its list of the 50 Greatest Coaches of All Time in all sports; she was the only woman on the list. In 38 years as a coach, she never had a losing season. On April 20, 2012, the White House announced that Pat Summitt would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
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Pat Tabler
Patrick Sean "Pat" Tabler (born February 2, 1958 in Hamilton, Ohio) is a former Major League Baseball player and currently a color analyst for the Toronto Blue Jays on the Canadian sports television network Rogers Sportsnet and formerly with TSN.
Born in Hamilton, Ohio, Tabler graduated from Archbishop McNicholas High School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Tabler was a first round draft pick of the New York Yankees (number 16 overall) in 1976, and entered the organization as an outfielder. Tabler never reached the majors with the Yankees and in 1981, they traded him to the Chicago Cubs for players to be named later (the Cubs sent Bill Caudill and Jay Howell to the Yankees to complete the deal).
He made his debut with the Cubs in 1981 as a second baseman. In 1982, the Cubs moved him to third base but he never found much success at the plate in limited playing time.
In 1983, he joined the Cleveland Indians and became their starting first baseman. That year he hit .291 in 124 games. He became quickly known as a line drive hitter and continued to have modest success at the plate. His best season was in 1987 when he became an all-star, hitting .307 with 11 home runs and 86 runs batted in. Along with first base he was well suited for the designated hitter role he inherited from Andre Thornton in 1987. He gained attention for his amazing success in bases-loaded situations: 43 for 88 (.489) with 108 RBI. He played in Cleveland until 1988, when he was traded to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Bud Black.
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Patty Sheehan
Patty Sheehan (born October 27, 1956) is an American professional golfer. She became a member of the LPGA Tour in 1980 and won six major championships and 35 LPGA Tour events in all. She is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Sheehan also hosts the Patty Sheehan & Friends, which is a tournament on the Legends Tour. Patty Sheehan & Friends helps aid women and children's charities all across Northern Nevada.
Sheehan was born in Middlebury, Vermont. She attended Earl Wooster High School in Reno, Nevada. She won three straight Nevada high school championships (1972–74), three straight Nevada State Amateurs (1975–78) and two straight California Women's Amateurs (1977–78). She was the runner-up at the 1979 U.S. Women's Amateur, then was the 1980 AIAW (predecessor of the NCAA) national collegiate champion. She went 4-0 as a member of the 1980 U.S. Curtis Cup team. She attended University of Nevada and San Jose State University.
Sheehan turned professional and joined the LPGA Tour in 1980. She won LPGA Rookie of the Year honors in 1981 with her first professional victory coming at the Mazda Japan Classic. She was strong throughout the 1980s, winning four times in both 1983 and 1984, and winning the LPGA Championship in both seasons. She won LPGA Tour Player of the Year in 1983 and was one of several athletes named Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year in 1987.
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Paul Konerko
Paul Henry Konerko ( /kəˈnɛərkoʊ/; born March 5, 1976) is an American professional baseball first baseman who has played for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball since 1999. He previously played with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1997–98) and the Cincinnati Reds (1998). Konerko helped the Chicago White Sox win the 2005 World Series, the franchise's first since 1917. Since 2006 he has served as team captain.
Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Konerko is of Polish (paternal) and Italian (maternal) descent. At Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, Konerko was named the Arizona Republic/Phoenix Gazette Player of the Year as a senior, after leading his team to a Class 4-A state championship. Konerko hit .558 in 1994, the school season record until Ike Davis, who later became the first baseman for the New York Mets, hit .559 in 2003. Konerko also held the school season record in doubles, with 18, until Davis hit 23 doubles in 2003. He also held the school career record in doubles (44), until Davis passed him with 48 doubles.
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Paul Molitor
Paul Leo Molitor (born August 22, 1956), nicknamed "Molly" and "The Ignitor", is an American former Major League Baseball designated hitter and infielder. During his 21-year baseball career, he played for the Milwaukee Brewers (1978–1992), Toronto Blue Jays (1993–1995), and Minnesota Twins (1996–1998). In 2004, he was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, becoming one of the first players who spent a significant portion of his career as a designated hitter to be enshrined. He was known for his exceptional hitting and speed.
Molitor was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. After graduating from Cretin-Derham Hall High School, he was selected in the 28th round of the 1974 free agent draft as a pitcher by the St. Louis Cardinals, but opted instead to attend college at the University of Minnesota. He was a three year starter for the Golden Gophers, earning All American honors as a shortstop for his sophomore and junior years. After his junior year in college, he was selected third overall in the 1978 free agent draft by the Milwaukee Brewers. He signed with the Brewers and began his professional career in Iowa, playing for the Class A Burlington Bees of the Midwest League.
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Paul Shuey
Paul Kenneth Shuey (born September 16, 1970 in Lima, Ohio), is a retired American professional baseball player. Primarily a relief pitcher, Shuey pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians (1994–2002), Los Angeles Dodgers (2002–2003) and Baltimore Orioles (2007).
Shuey was honored as an All-American as a college baseball pitcher for the North Carolina Tar Heels baseball team. The Indians selected Shuey with the second overall selection of the 1992 MLB Draft. Envisioned as a comparable pitcher to Cincinnati Reds closer Rob Dibble, Shuey had more success as a setup reliever than closer.
Injuries sidelined Shuey throughout his career, preventing him from becoming a closer. When healthy, he enjoyed success with the Indians as a setup pitcher. He was traded to the Dodgers in 2002 to be their set up man while contending for a playoff spot. He pitched well until a hip injury initially suffered in 1999 forced Shuey to retire in 2004. After an experimental medical procedure, Shuey returned to baseball briefly in 2007 with the Orioles. He retired after that season, and took up a professional career in bass fishing, competing in what he considers "Double-A"-level tournaments.
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Paul Waner
Paul Glee Waner (April 16, 1903 – August 29, 1965), nicknamed "Big Poison", was a German-American Major League Baseball right fielder.
He, along with his brother Lloyd, starred in the Pittsburgh Pirates' outfield in the 1920s and 1930s. Waner was born in Harrah, Oklahoma. He led the National League in batting on three occasions and accumulated over 3,000 hits during his 20-year baseball career from 1926 to 1945. He collected 200 or more hits on eight occasions, was voted the NL's Most Valuable Player in 1927, and compiled a lifetime batting average of .333. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1952. He set the Major League record for consecutive games with an extra-base hit, with 14 (June 6 through June 20, 1927); since then, it has been accomplished by Chipper Jones.
After playing the first fifteen years of his career with the Pirates, Waner ended his career playing for the Dodgers (1941, 1943–1944), Boston Braves (1941–1942) and New York Yankees (1944–1945). Famous for his ability to hit while hung over, when Waner gave up drinking in 1938 at management's request, he hit only .280—the first of only two times that he failed to hit .300 as a Pirate. As Casey Stengel said in complimenting his base-running skills, "He had to be a very graceful player, because he could slide without breaking the bottle on his hip."
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Pedro Feliciano
Pedro Juan Feliciano Molina (born August 25, 1976 in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico) is a Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher for the New York Yankees.
Feliciano graduated from Jose S. Algeria High School in Dorado, Puerto Rico.
In 1995 he was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 31st round of the amateur draft and began his professional career with the Great Falls Dodgers in the Pioneer League. His progress through the minor leagues was slow and marred by injuries.[citation needed] After four years in the Rookie and Class A leagues, he suffered a shoulder injury in 1999 which prevented him from playing all season.[citation needed] He returned in 2000, pitching at the AA level, with one inning for the AAA Albuquerque Dukes. In 2001, he struggled in AAA after pitching well in AA.[citation needed] After six years of service in the minor leagues without promotion to the Majors, he became a free agent.
Feliciano signed with the Cincinnati Reds for the 2002 season, but was traded to the New York Mets in August along with Brady Clark for Shawn Estes. On September 4, 2002, Feliciano made his Major League debut pitching two scoreless innings of relief against the Florida Marlins. In the three years following, he had mixed success with the Mets, being recalled from and optioned to the AAA Norfolk Tides several times in 2003 and 2004.
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Pedro Martínez
Pedro Jaime Martínez (born October 25, 1971 in Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic) is a retiredMajor League Baseball pitcher. He is an eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, and 2004 World Series champion. At the time of his 200th win in April 2006, Martínez had the highest winning percentage of any 200-game winner in modern baseball history (he eventually slipped .003 behind Whitey Ford). His ERA+ is the highest of any starting pitcher in MLB history.
Officially listed at 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) and 195 pounds (88 kg), Martínez was unusually small for a modern-day power pitcher, and he is believed to be somewhat smaller than his officially listed height and weight.
Martínez's pitching style was atypical as he commanded an arsenal of "out" pitches. His fastball, cutter, curveball and circle changeup were all well above average; combined with his historically excellent control, they proved to be an overpowering package. Martínez threw from a low three-quarter position that hid the ball very well from batters, who have remarked on the difficulty of picking up Martínez's delivery.
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Pee Wee Reese
Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23, 1918 – August 14, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958. A ten-time All Star, Reese contributed to seven National League championships for the Dodgers and, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Reese is also famous for his support of his teammate Jackie Robinson, the first modern African American player in the major leagues, especially in Robinson's difficult first years.
Reese's nickname originated in his childhood, as he was a champion marbles player (a little "pee wee" is a small marble). Reese was born in Ekron, Meade County, Kentucky, and raised there until he was nearly eight years old, when his family moved to racially segregated Louisville. In high school, Reese was so small that he did not play baseball until senior year, at which time he weighed only 120 pounds and played just six games as a second baseman. He graduated from duPont Manual High School in 1937.[citation needed] He worked as a cable splicer for the Louisville phone company, only playing amateur baseball in a church league. When his team reached the league championship, the minor league Louisville Colonels allowed them to play the championship game on their field. Reese impressed Colonels owner Cap Neal who signed him to a contract for a $200 bonus.
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Pete Rose
Peter Edward Rose (born April 14, 1941), nicknamed "Charlie Hustle", is a former Major League Baseball player and manager. Rose played from 1963 to 1986, and managed from 1984 to 1989.
Rose, a switch hitter, is the all-time Major League leader in hits (4,256), games played (3,562), at-bats (14,053) and outs (10,328). He won three World Series rings, three batting titles, one Most Valuable Player Award, two Gold Gloves, the Rookie of the Year Award, and made 17 All-Star appearances at an unequaled five different positions (2B, LF, RF, 3B & 1B).
In August 1989, three years after he retired as an active player, Rose agreed to permanent ineligibility from baseball amidst accusations that he gambled on baseball games while playing for and managing the Reds, including claims that he bet on his own team. In 1991, the Baseball Hall of Fame formally voted to ban those on the "permanently ineligible" list from induction, after previously excluding such players by informal agreement among voters. In 2004, after years of public denial, Rose admitted to betting on baseball and on, but not against, the Reds. The issue of Rose's possible re-instatement, and election, to the Hall of Fame remains a contentious one throughout baseball.
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Pete Rozelle
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle (/rɵˈzɛl/; March 1, 1926 – December 6, 1996) was the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL) from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world.
Rozelle was born in South Gate, California and grew up in neighboring Lynwood, California during the Great Depression. He graduated from Compton High School in 1944, lettering in baseball and basketball. He was drafted into the Navy in 1944 and served 18 months in the Pacific on an oil tanker. Rozelle began his career at the University of San Francisco, working as a student publicist for the school's football team. He had already worked in public relations for the Los Angeles Rams front office and while in the athletic office at USF he marketed the Don's National Invitation Tournament championship basketball season of 1949 into a national media event. He graduated from USF in 1950.
He held a series of public relations jobs in Southern California, marketing the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia for a Los Angeles based company. He joined the Los Angeles Rams as its public relations specialist. By 1957, Rozelle was offered the GM job with the Rams. He turned a disorganized, unprofitable team, lost in the growing LA market, into a business success.
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Phil Coke
Phillip "Phil" Douglas Coke (born July 19, 1982) is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. Coke was born in Sonora, California
Coke attended San Joaquin Delta College. He was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 49th round (1450th overall) of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft, but did not sign.
He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 26th round (786th overall) of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft, and did sign.
He began his baseball career with the GCL Yankees in 2003. By 2007, Coke had also pitched for the short season Staten Island Yankees, Class-A Charleston RiverDogs, and Class-A Advanced Tampa Yankees.
He made his Double-A debut with the Trenton Thunder in 2008, going 9–4 with a 2.54 ERA in 23 games (20 starts). Later that year in Triple-A with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, he pitched in 13 games (starting one) and went 2–2 with a 4.67 ERA.
He made his major league debut on September 1, 2008, for the Yankees against the Detroit Tigers with a scoreless inning and strikeouts of Curtis Granderson and Miguel Cabrera. In 2009, Coke got his first World Series title after the Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.
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Phil Hughes
Philip Joseph "Phil" Hughes (born June 24, 1986) is an American right-handed baseball pitcher who has played 5 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. He was the Yankees' first-round pick in the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft.
During his time in the Yankees' minor-league system, Hughes became one of the most highly anticipated prospects in baseball. He debuted in the Major Leagues in 2007, and quickly demonstrated his potential with a bid for a no-hitter in only his 2nd MLB start. However, injury cut short his start, as well as significant portions of his 2007 and 2008 seasons. Hughes began 2009 in the starting rotation, but after struggling, he was converted to a relief pitcher for the remainder of the season, where he excelled as a setup man in a World Series-winning season. He returned to the rotation in 2010, winning 18 games and earning his first All-Star selection. Arm fatigue cost Hughes nearly half of the season in 2011.
His pitching repertoire consists of a four-seam fastball, cutter, curveball, and changeup.
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Phil Nevin
Phillip Joseph Nevin (born January 19, 1971 in Fullerton, California) is a retired American professional baseball player who spent twelve seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is currently the manager of the Toledo Mud Hens, the Detroit Tigers Class-AAA affiliate, assigned to the International League. In MLB, he played for the Houston Astros (1995), Tigers (1995–1997), Anaheim Angels (1998), San Diego Padres (1999–2005), Texas Rangers (2005–2006), Chicago Cubs (2006) and Minnesota Twins (2006).
Nevin attended California State University, Fullerton where he played college baseball for the Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball team. Leading the Titans to the championship game in the 1992 College World Series (CWS), he named the CWS Most Outstanding Player and won the Golden Spikes Award. Chosen with the first-overall pick in the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft, Nevin went on to play in MLB for six teams across 12 seasons. He was selected to appear in the 2001 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
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Phil Niekro
Philip Henry Niekro (born April 1, 1939), nicknamed "Knucksie" because of his usage and skill level with the knuckleball, is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1997.
A native of Blaine, Ohio, Niekro attended Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, Ohio, and was a boyhood friend of NBA Hall-of-Famer John Havlicek. Phil and his younger brother, fellow major league pitcher Joe Niekro, learned to throw a knuckleball from their father Joe Niekro, Sr. in their backyard as kids.
Niekro's 318 career victories are the most by a knuckleball pitcher, and he currently ranks 16th on the overall all-time wins list. He also won the National League Gold Glove Award five times. Phil and Joe Niekro amassed 539 wins between them, the most combined wins by brothers in baseball history. Phil Niekro's 121 career victories after the age of 40 is a major league record, and his longevity is attributed to the knuckleball, which, while a difficult pitch for pitchers to master, is easy on the arm and often baffles hitters due to its fluttering trajectory. He is also the uncle of former first baseman and pitcher Lance Niekro. The baseball field in Phil's hometown of Bridgeport, Ohio has been named Niekro Diamond in honor of Phil and Joe Niekro.
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Phil Rizzuto
Philip Francis Rizzuto (September 25, 1917 – August 13, 2007), nicknamed "The Scooter", was an American Major League Baseball shortstop. He spent his entire 13-year baseball career for the New York Yankees (1941–1956). Rizzuto was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1994.
A popular figure on a team dynasty which captured 10 AL titles and seven World Championships in his 13 seasons, Rizzuto holds numerous World Series records for shortstops. His best statistical season was 1950, when he was named the American League's Most Valuable Player. Despite this offensive peak, Rizzuto was a classic "small ball" player, noted for his strong defense in the infield. The slick-fielding Rizzuto is also regarded as one of the best bunters in baseball history. When he retired, his 1,217 career double plays ranked second in major league history, trailing only Luke Appling's total of 1,424, and his .968 career fielding average trailed only Lou Boudreau's mark of .973 among AL shortstops.
Ted Williams once claimed that his Red Sox would have won most of the Yankees' 1940s and 1950s pennants if they had had Rizzuto at shortstop, but Rizzuto himself was more modest: "My stats don't shout. They kind of whisper."
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Prince Fielder
Prince Semien Fielder (born May 9, 1984) is an American professional baseball player for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. Playing first base, he is currently listed at 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) (180 cm) and 285 lb (129 kg). He was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft out of Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Florida, and he played for the Brewers from 2005 through 2011.
He is the son of former first baseman Cecil Fielder. Prince and Cecil Fielder are the only father-son combination in MLB history to each hit 50 home runs in a season. Fielder holds the Brewers' team record for home runs in a season, and is the league's youngest player to hit 50 home runs in a season. He became the first Brewer to win the Home Run Derby, defeating Nelson Cruz 6–5 in the final round of the 2009 derby. He is a three-time all-star.
Prince, like many sons of prominent major leaguers, was a fixture around his father's teams' clubhouses growing up. In addition, he starred alongside his father in a McDonald's commercial and appeared with him on MTV's "Rock N' Jock Softball".
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Rafael Palmeiro
Rafael Palmeiro Corrales (born September 24, 1964 in Havana, Cuba) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and left fielder. Palmeiro was an All-American at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985. He played for the Cubs (1986–1988), Texas Rangers (1989–1993, 1999–2003), and the Baltimore Orioles (1994–1998, 2004–2005). He was named to the MLB All-Star Team four times, and won the Gold Glove three times. He is a member of the exclusive 500 home run club and the 3,000 hit club and is only the fourth player in history to be a member of both.
Days after recording his 3,000th hit, Palmeiro was suspended for testing positive for an anabolic steroid.
Palmeiro was born in Havana, Cuba and graduated from Miami Jackson High School. He played college baseball at Mississippi State University. Although he was drafted by the New York Mets in the 8th round of the 1982 draft, he did not sign. On June 11, 1985, Palmeiro signed with the Chicago Cubs as the 22nd pick in the 1st round of the 1985 draft. Rafael Palmeiro played baseball during early years in Miami, together with Jose Canseco and many other players. The coach that they play under was Osvaldo Morales who used to coach Jose Canseco in Miami Coral Park Hight School at the Junior Varsity team.
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Rafael Soriano
Rafael Soriano (born December 19, 1979) is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the New York Yankees. He has also played for the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, and Tampa Bay Rays. Soriano bats and throws right-handed.
Soriano was signed as an amateur free agent by the Seattle Mariners in 1996. He was signed as an outfielder before being converted to a pitcher. He made his Major League debut with the Mariners on May 5, 2002. After an effective 2003 season, Soriano suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, and underwent Tommy John surgery on August 17, 2004.
Soriano returned to the Majors on September 10, 2005. Soriano suffered a concussion on August 29, 2006, after being struck behind the ear by a line drive hit from Angels slugger Vladimir Guerrero. He was released from the hospital the following afternoon.
Soriano was traded to the Atlanta Braves from the Mariners on December 7, 2006, in exchange for left-handed pitcher Horacio Ramírez. In an offseason article, ESPN explained why they believed that Soriano was a significantly better player than Ramirez. Soriano had a mixed bag of success and disappointment in his first season in Atlanta, primarily serving as the setup man to closer Bob Wickman. Soriano became the Braves closer after Wickman was designated for assignment in August. He earned his first save since May 10 on August 30.
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Rafer Johnson
Rafer Lewis Johnson (born August 18, 1935) is an American former decathlete and film actor.
Johnson was born in Hillsboro, Texas, but the family moved to Kingsburg, California, when he was nine. For a while, they were the only black family in the town. A versatile athlete, he played on Kingsburg High School's football, baseball and basketball teams. He was also elected class president in both junior high and high school. At 16, he became attracted to the decathlon after seeing double Olympic champion Bob Mathias compete and told his coach, "I could have beaten most of those guys."
He competed in his first meet in 1954 as a freshman at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). His progress in the event was impressive; he broke the world record in his fourth competition. He pledged Pi Lambda Phi fraternity, America's first nondiscriminatory fraternity, and was class president at UCLA. In 1955, in Mexico City, he won the title at the Pan American Games.
Johnson qualified for both the decathlon and the long jump events for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne. However, he was hampered by an injury and forfeited his place in the long jump. Despite this handicap, he managed to take second place in the decathlon behind compatriot Milt Campbell. It would turn out to be his last defeat in the event.
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Ralph Terry
Ralph Willard Terry (born on January 9, 1936) is an American former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees (1956–57, 1959–64), Kansas City Athletics (1957–59, 1966), Cleveland Indians (1965) and New York Mets (1966–67). Terry is best remembered for giving up the home run to Bill Mazeroski that won the Pittsburgh Pirates the 1960 World Series.
Terry was born in Big Cabin, Oklahoma.
In twelve seasons as a player, Terry posted a career record of 107-99, with 1000 strikeouts, a 3.27 earned run average, 257 games started, 75 games finished, 20 shutouts, 11 saves, and 446 bases on balls in 1849 innings pitched.
His best season was 1962, when he posted a 23-12 won-loss record. He pitched 298-2/3 innings, striking out 176, while walking 57. His 23 victories led the American League that year.
In five World Series (1960–64), Terry posted a record of 2-3, 31 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA. Both wins came in the 1962 World Series (of which he was named MVP) against the San Francisco Giants, including a 1-0 shutout in Game 7 over Giant ace Jack Sanford. That game—and thus the Series—ended with Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson catching Willie McCovey's line drive with Willie Mays on second and Matty Alou on third; had the ball been hit a foot or so to either side, Richardson could not have caught it and San Francisco would have scored two runs and won the Series.
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Ramiro Mendoza
Ramiro Mendoza (born June 15, 1972 in Los Santos, Panama), nicknamed "El Brujo" (The Witch Doctor), is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Mendoza played with the New York Yankees (1996–2002, 2005) and Boston Red Sox (2003–04). He batted and threw right-handed. Although Mendoza made 62 starts in his major league career, he was primarily known as a middle relief pitcher. He threw a sinker along with a slider, a four-seam fastball and a changeup. In Mendoza's ten seasons in the Major Leagues he was a part of five World Series champion teams.
In a nine-year career, Mendoza compiled a 59–40 record with 463 strikeouts and a 4.30 earned run average in 797 innings pitched. Mendoza was the only player in the last 75 years to win a World Series ring with both the New York Yankees (1998–2000) and Boston Red Sox (2004) before Johnny Damon and Eric Hinske joined that club in 2009.
Mendoza mad his major league debut in 1996, going 4-5 with a 6.79 ERA in his rookie season. He did not appear on the postseason roster. In 1997, Mendoza went 8-6 with a 4.24 ERA, while starting 15 games, as both a starter and a reliever. He also appeared in his first two postseason games in 1997, going 1-1 with an ERA of 2.45 while throwing 133 and 2/3 innings, a sharp increase from the 53 he pitched in 1996.
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Ramiro Peña
Ramiro Peña Gauna (born July 18, 1985) is a Major League Baseball utility infielder for the New York Yankees.
Peña was signed by the Yankees out of the Mexican League in 2005. He played for the Tampa Yankees in the Class-A Advanced Florida State League and Trenton Thunder of the Class-AA Eastern League that season and in 2006. He played for Trenton in 2007 and 2008, and was selected to participate in the 2008 All-Star Futures Game.
In 2009, Peña made the Yankees Opening Day roster, beating out Angel Berroa to be the utility infielder. He made his major league debut on April 6, 2009, appearing in the game as a pinch runner. On April 9 he got a hit in his first major league at bat, off Chris Ray of the Baltimore Orioles. On April 14 against the Tampa Bay Rays, Pena started his first career game at third base, going 0 for 3 with a walk.
On April 30, Peña got his first career run batted in in the bottom of the 8th inning against Justin Speier of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by hitting a double down the right field line.
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Randy Choate
Randol Doyle Choate (born September 5, 1975, in San Antonio, Texas) is an American Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Miami Marlins.
Choate attended Churchill High School in San Antonio, Texas, and was a letterman in baseball.
Choate made his debut on July 1, 2000, retiring the only batter he faced, in a 6–1 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays at Tropicana Field. In his 22 games for the New York Yankees that year, Choate had a record of 0–1 with a 4.76 ERA, after having his contract purchased by the Yankees from the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. After a career best 3–1 record with 3.35 ERA in 2001, Choate had a miserable 2002 and 2003, playing in just 23 games and a 6.23 ERA over that timespan.
Choate moved to the Montreal Expos, during the 2003–2004 offseason, but did not get to play a game in the last-ever season for the Expos, as the Arizona Diamondbacks acquired him in a trade on March 27, that sent Arizona pitcher John Patterson back to Montreal. Choate appeared in nearly every second game for the D-Backs, playing 74 games (the most number of games by a left-handed pitcher in Diamondbacks history and the 4th highest in total franchise history), achieving a 2–4 record with a 4.62 ERA.
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Randy Johnson
Randall David "Randy" Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is a former American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 22-year career, he pitched for six different teams.
The 6-foot-10-inch (2.08 m) Johnson was celebrated for having one of the most dominant fastballs in the game. He regularly approached, and occasionally exceeded, 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) during his prime. He also threw a hard, biting slider. Johnson won the Cy Young Award five times, second only to Roger Clemens' seven.
Johnson finished his career first in strikeouts per nine innings pitched among starting pitchers (10.67), second all-time in total strikeouts (4,875; first among left-handed pitchers), third in hit batsmen (188), tenth in fewest hits allowed per nine innings pitched (7.24), 22nd in wins (303), and 57th in shutouts (37). He pitched two no-hitters, the second of which was the 17th perfect game in baseball history.
Johnson was born in Walnut Creek, California, to Carol Hannah and Rollen Charles “Bud” Johnson. By the time he entered Livermore High School, he was a star in baseball and basketball. In 1982, as a senior, he struck out 121 batters in 66 innings, and threw a perfect game in his last high school start. He also played on a Bercovich team that assembled top players from throughout California. After high school he was drafted in 1982 by the Atlanta Braves in the 2nd round and offered $50,000 to sign. Instead, Johnson accepted a full athletic scholarship to USC, also playing 2 years of basketball. He continued to start at the University of Southern California under coach Rod Dedeaux, but often exhibited control problems.
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Randy Winn
Dwight Randolph Winn (born June 9, 1974) is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder. Winn was a switch hitter, and threw right-handed. He played college baseball at Santa Clara University and made his Major League debut in 1998 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. After the 2002 season, Winn was traded to the Seattle Mariners and later played for the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and St.Louis Cardinals. He played in the 2002 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
Winn was born in Los Angeles, California and attended San Ramon Valley High School. He attended college at Santa Clara University, and played baseball and basketball (where he played guard alongside former roommate and future NBA Most Valuable Player Steve Nash).
Winn was selected in the third round (65th overall) of the 1995 MLB amateur draft by the Florida Marlins. He was taken by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1997 MLB Expansion Draft.
Winn made his Major League debut on May 11, 1998 as a pinch runner for the Devil Rays. On October 3, 1999, he hit an inside-the-park grand slam against the New York Yankees. Winn represented Tampa Bay in the 2002 All-Star Game.
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Ray Knight
Charles Ray Knight (born December 28, 1952) is an American former right-handed Major League Baseball third baseman best remembered for his time with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets. Originally drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the tenth round of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft, he is likely best remembered to Reds fans as the man who replaced Pete Rose at third base, whereas Mets fans remember Knight as the man who scored the winning run of game six of the 1986 World Series and the MVP of that series. He is now a studio analyst and occasional game analyst for MASN's coverage of the Washington Nationals.
Knight made his major league debut with Cincinnati as a September call-up in 1974. He spent all of 1975 and 1976 with the triple A Indianapolis Indians before returning to the majors in 1977. During that time, the Reds won both World Series titles.
Knight was a .232 hitter with two home runs and 19 runs batted in when he assumed the role of starting third baseman for the "Big Red Machine" following Rose's defection to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1979. Knight responded with a .318 Batting average, ten home runs 79 RBIs and 64 runs scored to finish fifth in National League Most Valuable Player balloting.
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Raúl Ibañez
Raúl Javier Ibañez ( /ɨˈbɑːnjɛz/; born June 2, 1972) is an outfielder with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball.
Over his career, Ibáñez, who did not make 500 plate appearances until the age of thirty, has batted .280 with 377 doubles, 253 home runs and 1,054 runs batted in (RBI) over sixteen Major League seasons. He has seven seasons with 20 or more home runs, two seasons with 30 or more home runs, six seasons with 90 or more RBI, four seasons with 100 or more RBI and ten consecutive seasons (2002–2011) with 30 or more doubles.
Ibáñez played baseball for Miami Sunset Senior High School. After graduation, he attended Miami-Dade Community College, and was a baseball letterman and an All-Conference selection.
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Reggie Jackson
Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four different teams (1967–1987). He was nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees. Jackson won five consecutive American League West divisional pennants, three consecutive American League pennants and two consecutive World Series titles as a member of the Oakland Athletics (he did not play in the 1972 World Series due to injury) from 1971 to 1975; four American League East divisional pennants, three American League pennants and two consecutive World Series titles with the Yankees from 1977 to 1981; and two American League West divisional pennants with the California Angels in 1982 and 1986. He is perhaps best remembered for hitting three consecutive home runs in the clinching game of the 1977 World Series.
Jackson played for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics (1967–1975, 1987), Baltimore Orioles (1976), New York Yankees (1977–1981), and California Angels (1982–1986). A 14-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, Jackson won two Silver Slugger Awards, the 1973 American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, two World Series MVP Awards, and the 1977 Babe Ruth Award.
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Reggie Smith
Carl Reginald Smith (born April 2, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, coach and front office executive. During a 17-year big league career (1966–1982), Smith appeared in 1,987 games, hit 314 home runs and batted .287. He was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. In his prime, he had one of the strongest throwing arms of any outfielder in the big leagues. Smith played at least 70 games in 13 different seasons, and in every one of those 13 seasons, his team had a winning record.
Smith grew up in Los Angeles, California. He won the International League batting title in 1966 with a .320 average while playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was called up to the major leagues late in that season and played for the Boston Red Sox (1966-73), St. Louis Cardinals (1974–76), Los Angeles Dodgers (1976–81) and San Francisco Giants (1982). Smith appeared in four World Series, including during his rookie 1967 season for the Red Sox, and three (1977, 1978 and 1981) for the Dodgers. He hit three home runs in the 1977 series.
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Rex Hudler
Rex Allen Hudler (born September 2, 1960 in Tempe, Arizona, U.S.) is a radio broadcaster for the Kansas City Royals and a former Major League Baseball utility player. He played a total of thirteen seasons after being a first round draft pick of the New York Yankees in 1978.
He played for 6 different Major League Baseball teams and at every position except pitcher and catcher throughout his career: the New York Yankees (1984–1985), Baltimore Orioles (1986), Montreal Expos (1988–1990), St. Louis Cardinals (1990–1992), California Angels (1994–1996), and Philadelphia Phillies (1997–1998).
He also played for the Yakult Swallows of the Japanese Central League in 1993. Hudler saw playing time in the minor leagues with the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League in 1986 and 1987. Hudler then saw playing time with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians of the American Association in 1988 as the starting third baseman. During his playing career in Japan, he contributed to the team's back-to-back league championship and its second-ever Japan Series championship since its first title in 1978.
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Rick Ankiel
Richard Alexander Ankiel (pronounced /ˈæŋkiːl/; born July 19, 1979) is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Washington Nationals. He bats and throws left-handed.
Ankiel was a pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1999 until 2001, when he lost his ability to throw strikes consistently. After trying to regain his pitching form in the minor leagues, he switched to the outfield in early 2005. For two and a half years, he honed his skills as a hitter and fielder in the Cardinals' minor-league system. He was called up to the Cardinals on August 9, 2007, and made his second major-league "debut"—this time as an outfielder in right field—against the San Diego Padres in St. Louis. As a Cardinal (1999–2009), Ankiel hit 47 home runs as an outfielder and two as a pitcher. After a 2009 season in which he hit .231 with 11 home runs in 122 games, Ankiel became a free agent. Subsequently, he was signed by the Royals and later was traded to the Atlanta Braves. He is the first player since Babe Ruth to have won at least 10 games as a pitcher and also hit at least 50 home runs. Ankiel is also the only player other than Babe Ruth to both start a postseason game as a pitcher and hit a home run in the postseason as a position player.
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Rick Burleson
Richard Paul Burleson (born April 29, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. "Rooster," as he was nicknamed was a famously intense ballplayer. Former Boston Red Sox teammate Bill Lee once said of Burleson, "Some guys didn't like to lose, but Rick got angry if the score was even tied."
Burleson was originally drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft upon graduation from Warren High School, but did not sign. After a year at Cerritos Junior College, the BoSox selected Burleson #5 overall during the January secondary phase of the 1970 Major League Baseball Draft.
Burleson spent his first professional season with the Winter Haven Red Sox of the Florida State League. He batted only .220, and committed 38 errors at short. In 1972, Burleson was named an Eastern League All-Star while assigned to the Pawtucket Red Sox. Following Luis Aparicio's retirement, he battled Mario Guerrero for the starting shortstop job in Spring training 1974.
Though Guerrero won the job, Burleson still managed to earn a call to the major leagues by May. On May 4, Burleson tied a major league record by committing three errors in his major league debut, and was replaced by Guerrero at short by the end of the game. Despite the inauspicious start to his career, he would eventually end up being considered among the best defensive shortstops of his generation, earning a Gold Glove Award in 1979.
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Rick Dempsey
John Rikard Dempsey (born September 13, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for 24 seasons as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1992, most notably for the Baltimore Orioles. Dempsey was known for being one of the best defensive catchers of his era.
Dempsey was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 15th round of the 1967 Major League Baseball Draft out of Crespi Carmelite High School. After two seasons in the minor leagues, he made his major league debut late in the 1969 season for the pennant-winning Twins managed by Billy Martin, however he didn't qualify for the post-season roster. Dempsey spent a few more seasons shuttling between the Twins and their minor league teams, before being traded to the New York Yankees in October 1972. During his tenure with the Yankees, he served as a reserve catcher to Thurman Munson, and received tutoring from Yankees coach and former catching standout, Jim Hegan. After three and a half seasons with the Yankees, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles in June 1976, where manager Earl Weaver made him the Orioles' starting catcher.
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Rick Sutcliffe
Richard Lee "Rick" Sutcliffe (born June 21, 1956 in Independence, Missouri), nicknamed "The Red Baron" for his red hair and beard, is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher and current television sportscaster.
A right-hander, Sutcliffe was a three-time All-Star. He won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 1979 and the National League Cy Young Award in 1984.
Sutcliffe broke into the majors in 1979. He won 17 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers and was the first of four consecutive Rookies of the Year for the Dodgers from 1979–1982 (Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela, and Steve Sax were the others). The Dodgers traded Sutcliffe to the Cleveland Indians for Jorge Orta, a journeyman outfielder.
Sutcliffe won 31 games over the course of the next two seasons for Cleveland and led the American League in earned run average in 1982. In mid-1984, Cleveland traded a struggling Sutcliffe to the Chicago Cubs for Mel Hall and Joe Carter. Sutcliffe rebounded and won 16 games for the Cubs while losing only one, helping them to the division championship. On October 2, 1984, he started the first game of the NLCS against the San Diego Padres, giving up two hits and no runs, not only gaining the victory, but also hitting a home run in the third inning. Five days later, Sutcliffe pitched the final game of the series at Jack Murphy Stadium, but posted the loss after giving up four runs in the seventh inning.
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Rickey Henderson
Richard Nelson Henley "Rickey" Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four stints with his original team, the Oakland Athletics. Nicknamed The Man of Steal, he is widely regarded as the sport's greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner. He holds the major league records for career stolen bases, runs scored, unintentional walks and leadoff home runs. At the time of his last major league game in 2003, the ten-time American League (AL) All-Star ranked among the sport's top 100 all-time home run hitters and was its all-time leader in bases on balls. In 2009, he was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot appearance.
In addition to the career steals record, Henderson also holds the single-season record for stolen bases (130 in 1982) and is the only player in AL history to steal 100 bases in a season, having done so three times. His 1,406 career steals is 50% higher than the previous record of 938 by Lou Brock. Henderson is the all-time stolen base leader for the Oakland A's and previously held the New York Yankees' franchise record from 1988-2011. He was among the league's top ten base stealers in 21 different seasons.
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Ricky Ledée
Ricardo Alberto "Ricky" Ledée (born November 22, 1973 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets in his decade long professional career. He won two World Series championships with the Yankees in 1998 and 1999. Ledée, Darryl Strawberry, and Jose Vizcaino are the only players who have played for all four current and former New York franchises—the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers and Giants.
Drafted in the 16th round by New York in 1990, Ledée didn't break into the Major Leagues until 1998, playing in 42 games with the Yankees. The left-handed outfielder reached base in eight consecutive plate appearances in the 1998 World Series and was part of the Yankees' championship teams in both 1998 and 1999.
In 2000, Ledée was batting only .241 for the Yankees when they traded him with pitchers Jake Westbrook and Zach Day to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for David Justice. He played just 17 games for the Indians before they traded him to the Texas Rangers for first baseman David Segui. He finished 2000 with the Rangers and was a reserve for the club in 2001. Since then, he has played for the Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the New York Mets, who claimed him off waivers on August 8, 2006.
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Rob Neyer
Rob Neyer (born June 22, 1966) is a baseball author and writer for SB Nation. He started his career working for Bill James and STATS, and then joined ESPN.com as a columnist from 1996 to January 2011 before becoming SB Nation's National Baseball Editor. A disciple of major sabermetrics figure Bill James, his writing is an outlet for baseball fans to gain insight that statistics and historical analysis can offer.
Rob Neyer spent the early years of his childhood in the upper Midwest and later moved to the middle Midwest, close to the Kansas City area. He attended the University of Kansas, where he picked up a passion for baseball after reading Peter Golenbock's Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Bill James Baseball Abstract 1984. Uninterested in school, Neyer left college during his fourth year and took a job roofing houses.
Neyer was introduced to Bill James by a casual friend, Mike Kopf, nine months after dropping out of college. He was soon hired as a research assistant. Neyer's first project with James was helping compile material for the book This Time Let's Not Eat the Bones, a collection of material from the Abstracts. After four years under the tutelage of James, Neyer took a job at STATS, Inc., before joining ESPNet SportsZone, ESPN.com's forerunner, in 1996.
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Rob Thomson
Robert Thomson (born August 16, 1963 in Sarnia, Ontario) is the third base coach for the New York Yankees. He served as bench coach for the 2008 season after serving as Major League Field Coordinator for the organization.
Thomson was selected by the Detroit Tigers in the 32nd round of the 1985 draft. He played catcher and third base in the Tigers' minor league system until 1988, when he became a minor league coach for the team. In 1990, Thomson joined the Yankees organization as a third base coach for the team's Class-A affiliate in Fort Lauderdale. He moved into the front office in 1998 as a Field Coordinator, and became Director of Player Development in 2000. Prior to the 2003 season, he was named Vice President of Minor League Development, and was named to the Major League coaching staff in November of the same year.
On September 27, 2006, Thomson took over as first base coach in place of Tony Peña, who learned before the game that his father had died. He filled in at the position for four games, as Peña returned in time for the season finale on October 1.
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Roberto Alomar
Roberto "Robbie" Alomar Velázquez (/ˈæləmɑr/; Spanish pronunciation: [aloˈmar]; born February 5, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball player (1988–2004), regarded by many as one of the best second basemen in MLB history. During his career he won more Gold Gloves (10) than any other second baseman in history, and also won the second-most Silver Slugger Awards (4) for a second baseman. On January 5, 2011, Alomar was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, in his second year of eligibility.
Alomar was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. He is the son of Sandy Alomar, Sr., a former All-Star second baseman with a 15-year MLB career. His older brother, Sandy Alomar, Jr., was a Major League All-Star catcher and currently serves as bench coach for the Cleveland Indians.
Alomar was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and was raised in Salinas, Puerto Rico.
In 1985, Alomar signed with the San Diego Padres at age 17, and joined the team's Class-A affiliate in Charleston. The following year, playing in Reno, he won the California League batting championship with a .346 average.
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Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente Walker (August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican baseball right fielder who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 through 1972. Clemente was awarded the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1966. He was on the NL All-Star team 15 times, received 12 Gold Glove Awards, and led the NL in batting average four times. In 1972, Clemente got his 3,000th major league hit.
Off the field, Clemente was involved in charity work in Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries, often delivering baseball equipment and food to those in need. He died in an aviation accident on December 31, 1972, while en route to deliver aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. Clemente was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously in 1973, becoming the first Latin American to be selected and the only current Hall of Fame member for whom the mandatory five-year waiting period had been waived. Clemente is also the first Hispanic player to win a World Series as a starter (1960), receive an MVP Award (1966), and receive a World Series MVP Award (1971).
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Robin Yount
Robin R. Yount ( /ˈjɒnt/; nicknamed,"The Kid", and "Rockin' Robin", born September 16, 1955) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and center fielder. He spent his entire 20-year baseball career with the Milwaukee Brewers (1974–1993). In 1999, Yount was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Yount was born in Danville, Illinois. During his youth, his family moved to southern California, where he attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills.
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Robinson Canó
Robinson José Canó Mercedes (Spanish pronunciation: [ka no']; born October 22, 1982) is a Dominican baseball player who currently plays as a second baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He made his MLB debut in 2005.
Canó is a three-time All-Star (2006, 2010, 2011) and Silver Slugger Award winner (2006, 2010, 2011). He won a Gold Glove Award (2010) and has been named American League Player of the Month twice (September 2006, April 2010). In 2011, Canó won the Home Run Derby. He was a member of the Yankees' 2009 World Series championship team.
His father, José Canó, signed with the Houston Astros in 1980 and pitched in six games for them in 1989. Robinson was named after baseball legend Jackie Robinson.
Canó grew up in the Dominican Republic, though he lived in New Jersey for three years. He spent seventh, eighth, and ninth grades in the Newark school system, attending Barringer High School for one year. When his family moved back to the Dominican Republic, Canó attended San Pedro Apostol High School in San Pedro de Macoris, where he played for the school's baseball and basketball teams. In the Dominican Winter Baseball League he plays for his hometown team, the Estrellas Orientales.
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Rocco Baldelli
Rocco Dan Baldelli (/ˈrɒkoʊ bɔːlˈdɛli/; born September 25, 1981 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and designated hitter. Because of his excellent size and speed, and in reference to his hometown, he was nicknamed, "The Woonsocket Rocket," early in his professional career. After a promising beginning to his baseball career, a mysterious metabolic/muscular disorder would lead to numerous injuries and force Baldelli to retire as a player at age 29.
Rocco Baldelli attended the PEGASUS Gifted and Talented middle-school program at La Salle Academy in Providence. He played baseball for the Rhode Island Tides, an AAU ball club. Then he switched to Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, Rhode Island, for high school There he posted a 4.25 grade point average. He was also a four sport star, earning all-state honors in baseball, indoor track, basketball, and volleyball and was selected in the first round of the 2000 amateur draft. Had he not signed with Tampa Bay, he would have attended Wake Forest University on a baseball scholarship. He also seriously considered attending Princeton University.
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Rod Carew
Rodney Cline "Rod" Carew (born October 1, 1945) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman, second baseman and coach. He played from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins and the California Angels and was elected to the All-Star game every season except his last. In 1991, Carew was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. While Carew was never a home run threat (hitting fewer than 100 career home runs), he made a career out of being a consistent contact hitter. He threw right-handed and batted left-handed.
Carew is a Zonian and was born to a Panamanian mother on a train in the town of Gatún, which, at that time, was in the Panama Canal Zone. The train was racially segregated; white passengers were given the better forward cars, while non-whites, like Carew's mother, were forced to ride in the rearward cars. When she went into labor, a physician traveling on the train, Dr. Rodney Cline, delivered the baby. In appreciation for this, Mrs. Carew named the boy Rodney Cline Carew.
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Roger Bannister
Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister, CBE (born 23 March 1929) is an English former athlete best known for running the first mile in less than 4 minutes. Bannister became a distinguished neurologist and Master of Pembroke College, Oxford, before retiring in 2001.
Sir Roger was the inaugural recipient of the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award in January 1955 (1954 Sportsman of the Year).
Roger Bannister was born in Harrow, England. He went to Vaughan Primary school in Harrow before going on to be educated at Beechen Cliff School Bath, University College School, London, Exeter College and Merton College, Oxford, and at St Mary's Hospital Medical School (now part of Imperial College London).
Bannister was inspired by miler Sydney Wooderson's remarkable comeback in 1945. Eight years after setting the mile record and seeing it surpassed during the war years by the great Swedish runners Arne Andersson and Gunder Hägg, Wooderson regained his old form and challenged Andersson over the distance in several races. Wooderson lost to Andersson but set a British record of 4:04.2 in Göteborg on 9 September.
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Roger Clemens
William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "The Rocket", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams. Clemens was one of the most dominant pitchers in major league history, tallying 354 wins, a 3.12 earned run average (ERA), and 4,672 strikeouts, the third-most all time. An 11-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, he won seven Cy Young Awards during his career, the most of any pitcher. Clemens was known for his fierce competitive nature and for his hard-throwing pitching style that he used to intimidate batters.
Clemens debuted in the major leagues in 1984 with the Boston Red Sox, whose pitching staff he anchored for 12 years. In 1986, he won the American League (AL) Cy Young Award, the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, and the All-Star Game MVP Award, and he struck out an MLB-record 20 batters in a single game. After the 1996 season, Clemens left Boston via free agency and joined the Toronto Blue Jays. In each of his two seasons with Toronto, Clemens won a Cy Young Award, as well as the pitching triple crown by leading the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts. Prior to the 1999 season, Clemens was traded to the New York Yankees where he won his only two World Series titles. In 2003, he reached his 300th win and 4,000th strikeout in the same game. Clemens left for the Houston Astros in 2004, where he spent three seasons and won his seventh Cy Young Award. He rejoined the Yankees in 2007 for one last season.
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Roger Peckinpaugh
Roger Thorpe Peckinpaugh (February 5, 1891 – November 17, 1977) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians (1910–1913), New York Yankees (1913–1921), Washington Senators (1922–1926) and Chicago White Sox (1927). He managed the Yankees for 20 games in 1914 and was the team captain for the remainder of his time with the club. Peckinpaugh also managed the Indians from 1928 through 1933 and in 1941, and served in the front office of the Indians and minor league Buffalo Bisons from 1942 through 1947.
Peckinpaugh was considered an excellent defensive shortstop. He was named American League Most Valuable Player in 1925. He played in the World Series three times: winning the 1924 World Series with the Senators, losing the 1921 World Series with the Yankees, and losing the 1925 World Series with the Senators.
Peckinpaugh was born in Wooster, Ohio. His father played semi-professional baseball. He attended East Technical High School in Cleveland, Ohio, where he played American football, basketball, and baseball. There, Nap Lajoie of the Cleveland Naps saw Peckinpaugh. He signed Peckinpaugh to a contract with a $125 ($3,118 in current dollar terms) per month salary in 1910.
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Rollie Fingers
Roland Glen Fingers (born August 25, 1946) is a retired American Major League Baseball relief pitcher. During his 18-year baseball career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics (1968–76), San Diego Padres (1977–80) and Milwaukee Brewers (1981–85). He became only the second reliever to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992. Fingers is also one of only a few MLB players to have his number retired by more than one club (Oakland Athletics and Milwaukee Brewers).
Fingers was born in Steubenville, Ohio to George Michael Fingers and Edna Pearl (née Stafford) Fingers.
His father (who had also played minor league baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and roomed with Stan Musial), worked in a Steubenville steel mill. George Fingers came home from work fed-up one day, said "That's it, we're moving to California," and sold the house for $1,500 and bought a car and took the family to Cucamonga. They could not afford hotels so they slept in sleeping bags beside the highway. After getting to California George Fingers had to eventually go back to work in another steel mill.
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Román Rodríguez
Román Rodríguez (born March 30, 1966, in San Mateo, Venezuela) is the bullpen catcher for the New York Yankees.
Rodriguez was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 1988 by the Pittsburgh Pirates and spent eight years in their minor league system.
Upon concluding his playing career, Rodríguez was hired by the Kansas City Royals from 1997 until 2000 as bullpen catcher. In 2001, he took a job in the same role with the Boston Red Sox. In 2002, he became a part of the New York Yankees staff, as a bullpen catcher and assisting with the charting of pitches during games.
Rodríguez resides in Bradenton, Florida with his wife Carminia, who he married on Valentine's Day in 2004, and their daughter, Adriana.
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Ron Blomberg
Ronald Mark Blomberg (born August 23, 1948, in Atlanta, Georgia), nicknamed Boomer, is a former Major League Baseball designated hitter, first baseman, and right fielder. He played for the New York Yankees (1969, 1971–76) and Chicago White Sox (1978), and he was the manager of the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox in the Israel Baseball League (2007). He was the first designated hitter in Major League Baseball history.
He batted left-handed, and threw right-handed.
In his 8-season career, Blomberg compiled a .293 batting average (391-for-1,333) with 52 home runs, 224 RBIs, 184 runs, 67 doubles, and 8 triples in 461 games. He added a .360 on base percentage and a .473 slugging average. For his career, he hit .304 against right-handers, and .304 with 2 out and runners in scoring position, as well as .325 when the score was tied.
Blomberg attended Druid Hills High School, earning four letters each in baseball, basketball, and track, and graduated in 1967. He was an all-star in baseball, football, and basketball. He is the only athlete ever chosen for the Parade All-America teams in football, basketball, and baseball.
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Ron Cey
Ronald Charles Cey (born February 15, 1948) is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1971–1982), Chicago Cubs (1983–1986) and Oakland Athletics (1987). Cey batted and threw right-handed. A popular player, he was nicknamed "The Penguin" for his slow waddling running gait by his then-minor league manager Tommy Lasorda.
Cey was born in Tacoma, Washington. A graduate of Mount Tahoma High School, he attended Washington State University and was a member of Phi Delta Theta.
With the Dodgers, third baseman Cey was part of an All-Star infield that included Steve Garvey (first baseman), Davey Lopes (second baseman) and Bill Russell (shortstop). This quartet was the most enduring infield in baseball history[citation needed]. The four infielders stayed together as the Dodgers' starters for eight and a half years. Cey was one of the most productive and adept-fielding National League third basemen in the 1970's, but was overshadowed by Pete Rose and Mike Schmidt. In 1977, he helped the Dodgers to a fast start by batting .429 in April with a record-tying 11 home runs for the month and 29 RBI's. The Dodgers won the Western Division title that season on their way to the National League pennant.
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Ron Guidry
Ronald Ames Guidry ( /ˈɡɪdri/; born August 28, 1950), nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 14-year baseball career for the New York Yankees (1975–1988). Guidry was also the pitching coach of the New York Yankees from 2006 to 2007.
Guidry was born in Lafayette, Louisiana, and began his career pitching briefly in the 1975 and 1976 seasons. In 1977, he began as a relief pitcher but was moved into the starting rotation. He helped lead the New York Yankees to a World Series championship in 1977 and 1978. In those two years combined, Guidry went 4-0 in the postseason with 3 complete games in 5 starts, allowing only nine earned runs in 371⁄3 innings pitched.
In 1978, Guidry posted a career year, one of the best in the modern era. Against the California Angels on June 17, he struck out a Yankee-record 18 batters. Guidry's 18-strikeout performance is usually cited as the launching pad of the Yankee Stadium tradition of fans standing and clapping for a strikeout with two strikes on the opposing batter.
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Ron Kittle
Ronald Dale (Ron) Kittle (born January 5, 1958 in Gary, Indiana) is a former left fielder and designated hitter in Major League Baseball who was known mostly for his home run power, being named the 1983 AL Rookie of the Year. From 1982 through 1991, Kittle played for the Chicago White Sox (1982–86, 1989, 1991), New York Yankees (1986–87), Cleveland Indians (1988) and Baltimore Orioles (1990). He batted and threw right-handed. Kittle was also a manager for the minor league Schaumburg Flyers.
A former steelworker who made his major league debut at nearly 25 years old, Kittle was popular on the Chicago White Sox when they won 99 games in 1983 to make their first playoff appearance since the 1959 World Series. That season, Kittle was selected an All-Star and won Rookie of the Year honors after hitting 35 home runs (club record for a rookie) and 100 RBI.
Kittle also hit 50 homers in the minor leagues with the Edmonton Trappers and has his jersey retired in Edmonton at Telus Field.
He was most well known for his line-drive rooftop home runs (7, an MLB record) at Comiskey Park (1910–1990).
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Ron Santo
Ronald Edward Santo (February 25, 1940 – December 3, 2010) was an American professional baseball player, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and long-time radio sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1974, most notably as the third baseman for the Chicago Cubs. A nine-time All-Star, he was a powerful hitter who was also a good defensive player, winning five Gold Glove Awards. Despite suffering from diabetes, he carefully concealed the condition for most of his career. The disease eventually necessitated the amputation of the lower half of both legs.
While Santo initially received little support for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, his standing among baseball enthusiasts and sabermetricians has gradually increased over time. On December 5, 2011, he was posthumously elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Golden Era Committee.
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Rory Sparrow
Rory Darnell Sparrow (born June 12, 1958, in Suffolk, Virginia) is a retired American professional basketball player in the NBA.
Sparrow played at Eastside High School in Paterson, New Jersey, and was an inaugual inductee into the school's Hall of Fame.
He played collegiately at Villanova University, where he scored 1183 career points, and made 495 assists. In college, Sparrow made game-winning shots in the last ten seconds of the game on five occasions.
Sparrow, a 6'2" guard, was selected 75th overall (round 4, pick 6) of the 1980 NBA Draft by the New Jersey Nets. Including the Nets, he played with the Atlanta Hawks, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Lakers over a 12-year career, retiring after the 1991-92 season. He scored the first field goal in Miami Heat history, when the franchise was created in 1988.
Throughout his 12-year career Rory Sparrow was known as one of the steadiest guards in the NBA. He had his best years with the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks in the early 1980s, then went on to become a charter member of the expansion Miami Heat. In addition to his on-court success, Sparrow earned equal recognition for his tireless efforts in the community. In 1987 he was one of eight charitable athletes honored by Sports Illustrated as co-Sportsman of the Year.
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Roy Oswalt
Roy Edward Oswalt ( /ˈoʊzwɑːlt/; born August 29, 1977) is an Olympic gold medalist and American Major League Baseball pitcher who currently plays for the Texas Rangers organization. Oswalt, a six-foot right-handed starting pitcher, is currently in his eleventh major league season. He spent the first nine and a half years of his career with the Houston Astros.
Oswalt has been considered for much of his career to be among the elite pitchers in the National League. After completing nine years (2001–2009), Oswalt has compiled an 137–70 record with a 3.23 ERA and a 3.58 strikeout-to-walk ratio (1473:418) in 1803.1 innings pitched. He posted a 20–12 record in 2005 with a 2.94 ERA, repeating his 20-win performance of 2004. He was the ace of a Houston Astros staff that included Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. He is also a three-time All-Star. On August 29, 2006, Oswalt's 29th birthday, he signed a five-year extension with the Houston Astros totaling $73 million with an option for a 6th year.
Oswalt was born and raised in Weir, Mississippi, the son of Billy Oswalt, a logger and a Vietnam veteran. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Nicole, and together they have two daughters. When they were children, he and Nicole played T-ball against one another. At Weir High School, Oswalt played defensive back and wide receiver on the football team, which won a state title his senior year. He graduated in a class with 32 students. Oswalt attended Holmes Community College in Goodman, Mississippi for two years.
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Roy Sievers
Roy Edward Sievers (born November 18, 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri) is a former first baseman/left fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1949 through 1965, Sievers played for the St. Louis Browns (1949–53), the original Washington Senators (1954–59), Chicago White Sox (1960–61), Philadelphia Phillies (1962–64), and finally the new Senators (1964–65). He batted and threw right-handed.
Signed by the St. Louis Browns as a free agent in 1947, Sievers debuted in the major leagues on April 21, 1949.
Sievers won the American League Rookie of the Year and TSN Rookie of the Year awards in 1949, batting .306 with 16 home runs and 75 RBI. He struggled to .238 in 1950, and for the next three years he suffered shoulder and arm injuries that limited his playing time to 134 games. He was traded to the Washington Senators for Gil Coan before the 1954 season.
In Washington, Sievers collected 95 or more RBI and played at least 144 games during five consecutive years (1954–58) and made the AL All-Star team three times (1956–57, 1959). His most productive season came in 1957, when he led the league in home runs (42), RBI (114), extra base hits (70) and total bases (331), batting .301. He finished third in the MVP ballot with four first-place votes and 205 points –Mickey Mantle got six and 233, Ted Williams five and 209.
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Rubén Rivera
Rubén Rivera Moreno (born November 14, 1973 in La Chorrera, Panama) is a professional baseball player, who is currently an outfielder for the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican League. He played Major League Baseball for five different teams, from 1995 to 2003. His cousin, Mariano Rivera, is the long-time closer of the New York Yankees.
Rivera was signed by the New York Yankees in 1990. He made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast Yankees in 1992 and his major league debut with the Yankees on September 3, 1995. Rivera was highly touted as a prospect, being ranked as high as second overall amongst prospects by Baseball America in 1995, third in 1996, and ninth in 1997.
He played in 46 games for the 1996 New York Yankees. Though he was added to the postseason roster, Rivera only appeared in the 1996 American League Division Series during the 1996 postseason.
On April 22, 1997, he was traded with pitcher Rafael Medina and US $3 million to the San Diego Padres for infielder Homer Bush and minor leaguer Gordon Amerson and two players to be named later, who turned out to be the highly anticipated Japanese pitcher Hideki Irabu and minor leaguer Vernon Maxwell. It was supposed to be a deal to help both teams, but Irabu was a major disappointment for the Yankees, and Rivera turned out to be at least a minor disappointment for the Padres, as he was never able to get on base on a regular basis during his four seasons in the Padres organization, mostly with the parent team (including as a starter in 2000 and 2001), and his considerable power did not sufficiently compensate for that major failing. He was released shortly before the 2001 season.
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Russell Martin
Russell Nathan Jeanson Coltrane Martin, Jr (born February 15, 1983) is a Canadian Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher for the New York Yankees. Prior to joining the Yankees in 2011, he played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2006–2010). He is a three-time MLB All-Star (2007, 2008, 2011). In 2007, he won the Gold Glove Award and Silver Slugger Award.
Martin became the everyday catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers immediately upon his MLB debut in 2006, and continued in that role for nearly 5 years. His offensive and defensive performance earned wide accolades during his first three years, but they diminished significantly in 2009 and 2010 and Martin spent the last two months of 2010 on the disabled list. After the Dodgers declined to raise his salary, he signed with the Yankees for less than the Dodgers had offered him and succeeded Jorge Posada as the Yankees' everyday catcher.
Martin was born in East York, Ontario (Toronto). He grew up in Chelsea, Quebec and lived in Paris, France from the age of 8–10. Martin has an African Canadian father, Russell Martin Sr., and a white, French Canadian mother, singer and actress, Suzanne Jeanson. His parents separated when he was only two years old. His father used to play saxophone in Montreal subway stations to help pay for his baseball training. Along with playing baseball in the Montreal neighborhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Martin played hockey for N.D.G Minor Hockey, where glimpses of his future all-star athleticism could be seen. He graduated from Polyvalente Édouard-Montpetit High School, which was the same high school attended by former teammate Éric Gagné. After graduating from high school, Martin took a junior college scholarship at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida.
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Ryan Braun
Ryan Joseph Braun (born November 17, 1983, in Mission Hills, California) is an American right-handed Major League Baseball left fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers. A perennial standout, he was ranked No. 7 by the Sporting News in its 2012 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball and is the reigning National League MVP.
Braun was a two-time All American baseball player at the University of Miami, where he was named "National Freshman of the Year" by Baseball America in 2003. The Brewers drafted him in the first round (fifth overall) in the 2005 major league draft. He was the team's Minor League Player of the Year in 2006.
Braun has led the National League (NL) twice in slugging percentage (in 2007, while setting the major league rookie record, and 2011), twice in extra-base hits (2008 and 2011), and once in hits (2009). On defense, he led all major league outfielders in fielding percentage in 2008, led NL left fielders in fielding percentage twice (2009 and 2011), and led NL left fielders in range factor in 2009. His 128 home runs through 2010 were the 8th-most by any major leaguer ever through their first four seasons. Through 2011, he was third among all active ballplayers in career slugging percentage, and first among active left fielders in career fielding percentage.
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Ryota Igarashi
Ryota Igarashi (五十嵐 亮太, Igarashi Ryōta?, born May 28, 1979) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher who has pitched in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He currently plays for the New York Yankees organization in MLB.
Igarashi began his career with the Yakult Swallows of NPB in 1999. For Yakult, he was a five-time All-Star. After the 2009 season, Igarashi signed with the New York Mets of MLB as a free agent and pitched for them in 2010 and 2011.
Born in Chiba, Igarashi was a second-round draft pick of the Yakult Swallows in 1997. He threw a 6-inning perfect game in ni-gun on September 26, 1998; the contest was cut short due to rain. Igarashi had a 6-4 win-loss record with a save and a 4.91 earned run average (ERA) in 36 games as a rookie in 1999. He had won 11 games before the All-Star break his next season, 2000. He finished the year 11-4 with a save and a 3.11 ERA. He allowed only 42 hits in 75 1/3 innings pitched (IP) for a .160 batting average against. He struck out 90 batters, but also walked 33. He was named to the Central League (CL) All-Star team for the first time.
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Sammy Sosa
Samuel Peralta "Sammy" Sosa (born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican former professional baseball right fielder. Sosa played with four Major League Baseball teams over his career which spanned from 1989-2007.
Sosa's Major League career began with the Texas Rangers in 1989. After three seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Sosa became a member of the Chicago Cubs in 1992 and subsequently became one of the league's best hitters. In 1998, Sosa and Mark McGwire achieved national fame for their home run-hitting prowess in pursuit of Roger Maris' home run record. Sosa finished his career with brief stints with the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers. With the Rangers, Sosa hit his 600th career home run to become the fifth player in MLB history to reach the milestone. He is also the all-time home run leader among foreign-born MLB players. Furthermore, Sosa is one of only two National League Players to ever reach 160 RBI in a season, a milestone he reached in 2001. The other was Cubs player and RBI Champion Hack Wilson during his record setting 1930 season in which he recorded 191 RBI. Sosa is the only player to have hit 60 or more home runs in a single season three times.
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Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax ( /ˈkoʊfæks/; born Sanford Braun, December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1955–1966). Retiring at the peak of his career, in 1972 he became, at age 36 and 20 days, the youngest player ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame .
Koufax's career peaked with a run of six outstanding seasons from 1961 to 1966, before arthritis in his left elbow ended his career prematurely at age 30. He was named the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1963. He also won the 1963, 1965, and 1966 Cy Young Awards by unanimous votes, making him the first 3-time Cy Young winner in baseball history and the only one to win 3 times when the award was for all of baseball, not just one league. In each of his Cy Young seasons, Koufax won the pitcher's triple crown by leading the NL in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average. Koufax's totals would also have led the American League in those seasons.
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Scot Shields
Robert Scot Shields (born July 22, 1975 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida) is a former American Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He played his entire baseball career with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, serving as their setup man since 2005. He was the last member of the Anaheim Angels' 2002 World Series Championship team remaining on the team's roster when he announced his retirement in 2011.
He graduated from Fort Lauderdale High School and attended Lincoln Memorial University while majoring in kinesiology. He was drafted by the then-Anaheim Angels in the 38th round (1137th overall) of the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft.
He began his career as a reliever in 1997 with Low-A Boise, earning a 7-2 record with two saves and a 2.94 ERA. The next year, he moved to Single-A Cedar Rapids, compiling a 6-5 record, seven saves and a 3.65 ERA. In 1999, he split his time as a starter and a reliever at High-A Lake Elsinore, gaining a 10-3 record with a 2.52 ERA and one save. In nine starts, he pitched two complete games and one shutout. For his efforts that year, he was named Angels Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He was promoted to Triple-A Edmonton in 2000, where he struggled with a 7-13 record and a 5.41 ERA.
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Scott Brosius
Scott David Brosius (born August 15, 1966 in Hillsboro, Oregon) is a retired American Major League Baseball third baseman for the Oakland Athletics (1991–1997) and the New York Yankees (1998–2001). Brosius is currently the head baseball coach at Linfield College, his alma mater.
Brosius grew up in Milwaukie, Oregon, where he attended Rex Putnam High School before going to Linfield College. He was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 20th round of the 1987 amateur draft and signed on June 9, 1987. He became one of the limited number of players to hit a home run in his first major league game, on August 7, 1991. Brosius was the A's starting third baseman through the mid-1990s, although he played almost 300 games in his Oakland career at other positions, primarily in the outfield. In 1996, he batted .304 with 22 home runs, his best year with Oakland; however, his performance declined in 1997 when he became the last player to finish last in the majors, of those who qualified for the batting title, in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging average. He was traded to the Yankees after the season for Kenny Rogers, who had struggled mightily in New York. In his first year in the Bronx, he batted .300 with 19 home runs and 98 RBIs.
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Scott Elarton
Vincent Scott Elarton (born February 23, 1976 in Lamar, Colorado) is a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. He has played for the Houston Astros (1998–2001), Colorado Rockies (2001–2004), Cleveland Indians (2004–2005, 2008) and the Kansas City Royals (2006–2007).
At 6' 8", Elarton is among the many pitchers whose height is more commonly associated with the National Basketball Association, like 6' 10" Randy Johnson, 6' 11" Jon Rauch, and 6' 9" Mark Hendrickson, who actually played in the NBA for a few dozen games.
Elarton was chosen by the Astros in the first round of the 1994 Major League Baseball Draft (25th overall) when he was 18 years old. Foregoing college for the Minor Leagues, Elarton went from the single-A level to triple-A in 1997 and made his Major League debut on June 20, 1998, at 22 years of age.
He spent most of 1998 as a relief pitcher and registered a 3.32 earned run average, but gave up the game-winning run in the pivotal Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the eventual league champion San Diego Padres. He started 1999 in the bullpen, but was moved to the starting rotation in early July and recorded a 3.48 ERA and 9–5 record.
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Seth Mnookin
Seth Mnookin (born April 27, 1972) is an American writer and journalist.
As of 2006, he is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair (magazine); before that, he was a senior writer for Newsweek. He wrote the 2004 book Hard News : The Scandals at The New York Times and Their Meaning for American Media. Mnookin was assigned the Jayson Blair story at Newsweek, and the research for that book grew into a broader examination of the troubles during the Howell Raines administration at the New York Times.
During the 1990s, Mnookin struggled with overcoming heroin addiction, an experience he recounted in an article at Slate.com. His mother, the poet Wendy Mnookin, has also written about his heroin addiction and subsequent recovery.
In the mid '90s, he began his career as a rock critic, and later worked at The Palm Beach Post, The Forward, and Brill's Content.
Mnookin, who grew up in Newton, Massachusetts, is a graduate of Newton North High School and Harvard University.
In 2006, Mnookin released a book about the Boston Red Sox entitled Feeding the Monster, which became a New York Times bestseller. It chronicled the history of the team from 2001 to 2006, the first half-decade of the John W. Henry-Tom Werner ownership, and includes details about the 2004 World Series team.
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Shane Spencer
Michael Shane Spencer (born February 20, 1972 in Key West, Florida) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. In Major League Baseball, he played a total of 538 games for the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, and New York Mets, compiling 438 hits, 59 home runs, and 242 RBI. He was a replacement player during spring training in 1995, crossing the picket line during the 1994 Major League Baseball strike.
The stocky, baby-faced outfielder was first called up to the major leagues in 1998 at the age of 26, in the midst of a famously dominant season by the Yankees. He first played briefly in April, then endeared himself memorably to fans in September by hitting 10 home runs, including 3 grand slams in only 67 at-bats, earning him a spot on the Yankees postseason roster.
Spencer was nicknamed Roy Hobbs, in reference to the protagonist in The Natural, because he hit so many home runs and was older than most rookies when brought up to the majors. He hit a long home run in Yankee Stadium during the Divisional Series against the Texas Rangers, and the Yankees went on to win the World Series.
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Shane Victorino
Shane Patrick Victorino (born November 30, 1980 in Wailuku, Hawaii) is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies. He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.
Victorino is a former Hawaii state high school track and field champ (Spring, 1999) for St. Anthony High School in the 100 m, 200 m, and 400 m dashes. His 100 m time (10.80) was a state meet record. He has been consistently clocked at 3.7–3.8 sec. from home to first right-handed. He also has a strong arm, with 24 career outfield assists.
Victorino was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1999 in the sixth round of the 1999 amateur draft out of St. Anthony High School in Wailuku, Hawaii. He spent most of the 1999 through 2005 seasons in the minor leagues.
Victorino was selected as a Rule 5 draft pick in 2002 by the San Diego Padres, played 36 games for the Padres, but was eventually returned to the Dodgers. Victorino was again selected in the 2005 Rule 5 Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. He again failed to stay with the major league club, and was offered back to the Dodgers. The Dodgers declined, so the Phillies retained his contract and assigned him to their minor league club in Scranton-Wilkes Barre.
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Slade Heathcott
Below is a partial list of minor league baseball players in the New York Yankees system.
Christopher Tyler Austin (born September 6, 1991) is a outfielder in the New York Yankees organization.
Austin was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 13th round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft out of Heritage High School in Conyers, Georgia.
In 2011, while playing for the Gulf Coast Yankees and Staten Island Yankees, he hit .354/.418/.579 with six home runs and 36 runs batted in in 47 games.
Alphonse Dante Bichette, Jr. (born September 26, 1992 in Orlando, Florida) is an American Minor League Baseball (MiLB) third baseman who was drafted 51 overall in the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft by the New York Yankees.
Bichette debuted in the Minor Leagues as part of the Yankees Gulf Coast League team, the GCL Yankees on June 20, 2011.
Bichette was born in Orlando, Florida in 1992. His father Dante Bichette, is a former Major League Baseball player.
During his senior year at Orangewood Christian High School he batted .640 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs in 30 games.
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Stan Bahnsen
Stanley Raymond Bahnsen (born December 15, 1944) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Nicknamed the "Bahnsen Burner," he once made 118 starts over a three year stretch while playing with the Chicago White Sox in the mid 1970s.
Bahnsen was drafted out of the University of Nebraska by the New York Yankees in the fourth round of the 1965 Major League Baseball Draft. After two seasons in the minor leagues, in which he went 12-9 with a 2.87 earned run average, he received his first call up to the majors in September 1966. In four games with the Yanks, he was 1-1 with a save and 3.52 ERA. He earned an invitation to Spring training camp in 1967, but was assigned to the triple A Syracuse Chiefs.
After arriving at camp late due to an army commitment, Bahnsen was given a second chance at a roster spot in 1968. He made the club, and proceeded to go 17-12 with a team best 2.05 ERA and struck out a career-high 162 batters to be named the American League Rookie of the Year. His finest performance of the season and only shutout came on August 1 against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. He struck out twelve, while allowing only three hits and walking no one.
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Stan Musial
Stanley Frank "Stan" Musial ( /ˈmjuːziəl/ or /ˈmjuːʒəl/; born November 21, 1920) is a retired professional baseball player who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals (1941–1963). Nicknamed "Stan the Man", Musial was a record 24-time All-Star selection (tied with Willie Mays), and is widely considered to be one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. He compiled 3,630 hits (ranking fourth all-time and most in a career spent with only one team). With 1,815 hits at home and 1,815 on the road, he is also considered to be the most consistent hitter of his era. He also compiled 475 home runs during his career, was named the National League's (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times, and won three World Series championship titles. Musial was a first-ballot inductee to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969 and is currently the longest tenured living Hall of Famer.
Musial was born in Donora, Pennsylvania, where he frequently played baseball in both informal and organized settings, eventually playing on the baseball team at Donora High School. Signed to a professional contract by the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitcher in 1938, Musial was converted into an outfielder prior to his major league debut in 1941. Noted for his unique batting stance, he quickly established himself as a consistent and productive hitter. In his first full season, 1942, the Cardinals won the World Series. The following year, he led the National League in six different offensive categories and earned his first MVP award. He was also named an All-Star for the first time; he would be selected to every All-Star Game in every subsequent season he played. Musial won his second World Series ring in 1944, then missed the entire 1945 season while serving with the United States Navy.
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Steve Cauthen
Steve Cauthen (born May 1, 1960) is a retired American jockey.
Cauthen, the son of a trainer and a farrier, grew up in Walton, Kentucky around horses, which (along with his small size) made race-riding a logical career choice. He rode his first race on May 12, 1976 at Churchill Downs; he finished last, riding King of Swat. He rode his first winner (Red Pipe) less than a week later, at River Downs. His rise to prominence was meteoric; he was the nation's leader in race wins in 1977 with 487. In only his second year of riding, he became the first jockey to win $6 million in a single season, passing that mark in December 1977 on a three-year-old filly called Little Happiness in the sixth race at Aqueduct Racetrack. After that, he was called "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "Stevie Wonder."
In 1977, he won numerous awards, including Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year, Sporting News Sportsman of the Year, Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year and ABC's Wide World of Sports Athlete of the Year. In the same year, he won the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Apprentice Jockey and the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey in the United States.
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Steve Garvey
Steven Patrick Garvey (born December 22, 1948), nicknamed "Mr. Clean" because of the squeaky clean image he held throughout his career in baseball, is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman and current Southern California businessman. Garvey was the 1974 NL MVP, 10-time All-Star, and holds the National League record for consecutive games played (1,207).
Born in Tampa, FL to parents who had recently relocated from Long Island, New York, from 1956 to 1961, Garvey was a bat boy for the Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers. Garvey played football and baseball at Michigan State University after graduating from Chamberlain High School. Garvey played his entire career in the National League West for two teams; the Los Angeles Dodgers (1969–82) and the San Diego Padres (1983–87). He batted right and threw right. In a 19-year career, Garvey was a .294 hitter with 272 home runs and 1308 RBI in 2332 games played.
Garvey was part of the most enduring infield in baseball history along with third baseman Ron Cey, shortstop Bill Russell and second baseman Davey Lopes. The four infielders stayed together as the Dodgers' starters for eight and a half years.
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Steve Yeager
Stephen Wayne "Steve" Yeager (born November 24, 1948) is an American right-handed former major league baseball catcher. Yeager spent 14 of the 15 seasons of his Major League Baseball career, from 1972 through 1985, with the Los Angeles Dodgers. His last year, 1986, he played for the Seattle Mariners. As of 2009, Yeager is a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization serving as a representative of the Dodgers Legend Bureau.
Yeager once hit two grand slams in one high school game at Meadowdale High School (Ohio) in Dayton, Ohio. Yeager was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 6, 1967, in the 4th round of the 1967 Major League Baseball Draft. After one game with the rookie level Ogden Spikers of the Pioneer League, Yeager was sent to the Dodgers Single-A affiliate, the Dubuque Packers of the Midwest League. The following season, in 1968, Yeager played 59 games for the Single-A Daytona Beach Dodgers of the Florida State League. In 1969, he played 22 games for the Bakersfield Blaze, the Dodgers' Single-A affiliate in the California League, where he threw out 26 runners from behind the plate.
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Sugar Ray Leonard
Sugar Ray Leonard (born May 17, 1956) is an American retired professional boxer and occasional actor. He was named Ray Charles Leonard, after his mother's favorite singer, Ray Charles. Leonard was the first boxer to earn more than $100 million in purses, won world titles in five weight divisions and defeated future fellow International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Wilfred Benítez, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Durán and Marvin Hagler. Leonard was named "Boxer of the Decade" for the 1980s.
Leonard, the fifth of seven children, was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina to Cicero and Getha Leonard. He grew up in Wilmington, N.C. When he was three, the family moved to Washington, D.C. When he was ten, they settled permanently in Palmer Park, Maryland. His father worked as a supermarket night manager, his mother was a nurse.
Leonard was a shy child, and aside from the time he nearly drowned in a creek during a Seat Pleasant flood, his childhood was uneventful. He stayed home a lot, reading comic books and playing with his dog. "He never did talk too much," his mother said. "We never could tell what he was thinking. But I never had any problems with him. I never had to go to school once because of him."
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Ted Lilly
Theodore Roosevelt "Ted" Lilly III (born January 4, 1976, in Torrance, California), is a Major League Baseball starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He bats and throws left-handed. Lilly -- named so because his great-grandfather rode with the Rough Riders -- attended Yosemite High School in Oakhurst, California, and Fresno City College.
Lilly was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 23rd round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. After two seasons in the Dodgers farm system, he was traded (along with Peter Bergeron, Wilton Guerrero and Jonathan Tucker) to the Montreal Expos for Hiram Bocachica, Mark Grudzielanek and Carlos Pérez.
Lilly made his Major League debut for the Expos on May 14, 1999 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, pitching one inning in relief. He made his first start on September 19 against the Atlanta Braves. He pitched in nine games for the Expos, with three starts.
Lilly was traded to the New York Yankees on March 17, 2000 as part of a trade involving Hideki Irabu.
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Terrence Long
Terrence Deon Long (born February 29, 1976 in Montgomery, Alabama) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball. Long batted and threw left-handed.
The New York Mets drafted Long in the first round (20th pick) of the 1994 amateur draft. On July 23, 1999, the Mets traded him and minor leaguer Leo Vasquez to the Oakland Athletics for Kenny Rogers. On November 26, 2003, the Athletics traded him and Ramon Hernandez to the San Diego Padres for Mark Kotsay. On November 8, 2004, the Padres traded Long, Dennis Tankersley, and cash to the Kansas City Royals for Ryan Bukvich and Darrell May. In 2006, Long signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees, who later called him to the major league level on May 21, 2006, to replace an injured Hideki Matsui. On July 7, Long was designated for assignment by the Yankees and released.
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Terry Baker
For the Canadian football player of the same name see Terry Baker (Canadian football).
Terry Wayne Baker (born May 5, 1941) is a former quarterback for the Oregon State University football team. He played for them through the 1960-1962 seasons. He is most notable for winning the 1962 Heisman Trophy and playing the Final Four in the NCAA Basketball Tournament in the same school year. To date, he is the only person to have both won a Heisman Trophy and played in the Final Four.
Baker was born May 5, 1941 in Pine River, Minnesota. He attended Jefferson High School in Portland, Oregon and was a standout three-sport athlete for the Democrats.
Baker was a three-year letterwinner in basketball, and led the Democrats to the Portland Interscholastic League city championship his senior year.
Baker was also a great baseball player. He earned a letter all four years of high school in baseball and led his team to the 1959 Oregon School Activities Association state championship.
Football, however, was Baker's most dominant sport. Baker played quarterback and tailback for the Democrats. In his junior and senior seasons, the Democrats were 23-0 and won two Oregon State Athletic Association state championships. As a senior, he threw for 1,261 yards and ran for 438 yards.
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Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). He is currently a TV analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday. He played 14 seasons with Pittsburgh, won four Super Bowl titles in a six-year period (1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979), becoming the first quarterback to win three and four Super Bowls, and led the Steelers to eight AFC Central championships. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, his first year of eligibility.
A tough competitor, Bradshaw had a powerful – albeit at times erratic – arm and called his own plays throughout his football career. His physical skills and on-the-field leadership played a major role in Pittsburgh Steelers history. During his career, he passed for more than 300 yards in a game only seven times, but three of those performances came in the post-season, and two of those in Super Bowls. In four career Super Bowl appearances he passed for 932 yards and 9 touchdowns, both Super Bowl records at the time of his retirement. In 19 postseason games he completed 261 passes for 3,833 yards.
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Terry Steinbach
Terry Lee Steinbach (born March 2, 1962 in New Ulm, Minnesota) is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for 14 years from 1986 to 1999. He was drafted in 1980 out of New Ulm High School by the Cleveland Indians. He was the starting catcher for Oakland Athletics teams that won three straight American League pennants from 1988 to 1990, and the World Series in 1989. After leaving the A's following his career year in 1996, he played his last three years with the Minnesota Twins.
He was elected to the American League All-Star team 3 times (1988, 1989 and 1993). His 1988 selection was highly controversial because Steinbach had posted modest numbers in the first half of the season. However, during the game he accounted for both AL runs with a home run and sacrifice fly, and was named the game's MVP.
Steinbach caught two no-hitters during his career (Dave Stewart in 1990, Eric Milton in 1999).
Steinbach is currently a coach for the Wayzata High School boys varsity baseball team in Plymouth, Minnesota.
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Terry Whitfield
Terry Bertland Whitfield (born January 12, 1953, Blythe, California) is a former Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Seibu Lions of the Japanese Baseball League, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1971, Whitfield was a first round draft choice of the New York Yankees, selected 19th overall.
As an outfielder, Whitfield was known more for his hitting than his defense, finishing with a career .281 batting average in 1913 at bats in the major leagues. After seven seasons in the major leagues, Whitfield moved to Japan. From 1981 to 1983, he excelled for the Seibu Lions, putting up good offensive numbers. In 1981, he hit .316 with 22 home runs and 100 runs batted in. In 1982, he hit .272 with 25 home runs and 71 runs batted in. And in 1983, he hit .278 with 38 home runs and 109 runs batted in. The following year, he returned to the major leagues, where he played for three more seasons, from 1984 to 1986.
After his playing career, he opened Future Pro Baseball, a batting cage in Burlingame, California, where he also offers private batting instruction. Whitfield also runs a youth baseball camp and is the inventor of a soft-toss machine called the "Terry-Toss" which can be found at his batting cage and as a fan attraction at professional stadiums such as AT&T Park in San Francisco. He previously was the head baseball coach at Burlingame High School. He has four kids. His son Eric Whitfield hit four homeruns in one game in an early-round game of a district All-Star Little League tournament.
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Theo Epstein
Theo Nathan Epstein (born December 29, 1973) is the President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs.
On November 25, 2002, he became the youngest GM in the history of Major League Baseball when the Boston Red Sox hired him at the age of 28. In 2004, he was general manager of the club that won the first World Series championship by the Red Sox in 86 years and was in the position when the team won another championship in the 2007 season. Epstein resigned in October 2005, but was rehired as GM and Executive Vice President on January 24, 2006. On October 21, 2011 he resigned from his job in Boston to become President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs.
He attended Deerfield Academy (a 1991 graduate), and never played baseball for the Brookline High School Warriors, but dreamed of working for the Red Sox. Epstein has a fraternal twin brother, Paul Epstein; together they founded a charity, "Foundation to be Named Later." Epstein's grandfather, Philip G. Epstein, and great-uncle, Julius J. Epstein, won Academy Awards for the screenplay of Casablanca, while his father, the novelist Leslie Epstein, is the head of the Creative Writing Program at Boston University. Epstein's sister, Anya Epstein, was a writer for the television series Homicide: Life on the Street and Tell Me You Love Me. On January 1, 2007, Epstein married Marie Whitney, a volunteer at Horizons for Homeless Children. An early report on the marriage from Boston Globe sportswriter Gordon Edes reported the site of the wedding was Nathan's Famous hot dog stand at Coney Island. Edes later published a correction, noting that he had fallen for a prank by Theo's father, Leslie. The site and actual date of the wedding was never released, but the Boston Herald later published a story claiming the wedding took place on Red Sox owner John Henry's yacht in Saint Thomas. On December 12, 2007, Epstein's wife gave birth to the couple's first child, Jack, in Boston, Massachusetts.
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Thurman Munson
Thurman Lee Munson (June 7, 1947 – August 2, 1979) was an American Major League Baseball catcher. He played his entire 11-year career for the New York Yankees (1969–1979). A perennial All-Star, Munson is the only Yankee ever to win both the Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards.
Born in Akron, Ohio, Munson was selected as the fourth pick of the 1968 Major League Baseball Draft. Munson hit over .300 in his two seasons in the Minor Leagues, establishing himself as a hot prospect. He became the starting catcher late in the 1969 season, when the Yankees were reestablishing themselves after a few losing seasons. Munson played his first complete season in 1970, becoming Rookie of the Year after hitting .302.
Considered the "heart and soul" of the Yankees, Munson became the first team captain since Lou Gehrig. He led the Yankees to three consecutive World Series, winning two of them.
Munson died at age 32 while practicing landing his Cessna Citation at Akron-Canton Airport. Munson suffered a broken neck as result of the crash and his cause of death was asphyxiation. His two companions escaped the burned aircraft.
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Tiger Woods
Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No. 1, he is the highest-paid professional athlete in the world, having earned an estimated US$90.5 million from winnings and endorsements in 2010.
Woods turned professional in 1996, and by April 1997 he had already won his first major, the 1997 Masters. He first reached the number one position in the world rankings in June 1997. Through the 2000s, Woods was the dominant force in golf, spending 264 weeks from August 1999 to September 2004 and 281 weeks from June 2005 to October 2010 as world number one. From December 2009 to early April 2010, Woods took leave from professional golf to focus on his marriage after he admitted infidelity. His multiple infidelities were revealed by several different women, through many worldwide media sources. This was followed by a loss of form, and his ranking gradually fell to a low of #58 in November 2011. He snapped a career-long winless streak of 107 weeks when he captured the Chevron World Challenge in December 2011. As of April 8, 2012, he is ranked #8.
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Tim Duncan
Timothy Theodore "Tim" Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 6-foot 11-inch (2.11 m), 255-pound (116 kg)power forward/center is a four-time NBA champion, two-time NBA MVP, three-time NBA Finals MVP, and NBA Rookie of the Year. The Spurs' team captain, he is a 13 time NBA All-Star and the only player in NBA history to be selected to both All-NBA and All-Defensive Teams during each of his first 13 seasons.
Duncan started out as a swimmer and only began playing basketball in ninth grade after Hurricane Hugo destroyed the only Olympic-sized pool on his home of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. He soon became a standout for St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School, and had an illustrious college career with the Wake Forest University Demon Deacons, winning the Naismith College Player of the Year, USBWA College Player of the Year and John Wooden awards in his final year. Duncan graduated from college before entering the 1997 NBA Draft as the number one pick. His list of accomplishments, remarkable consistency, and leadership in the Spurs' NBA championship runs in 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007 have led basketball experts to consider him to be one of the greatest power forwards in NBA history.
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Tim Kurkjian
Tim Kurkjian (pronounced /ˈkɜrkdʒən/; born December 10, 1956 in Bethesda, Maryland) is a Major League Baseball analyst on ESPN's Baseball Tonight and SportsCenter. He is also a contributor to ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. He guests on Mike and Mike in the Morning on Thursdays at 7:44 AM, discussing the latest in happenings in Major League Baseball. He is of Armenian descent.
Kurkjian has an extensive background in covering baseball. His journalism career began with the Washington Star in 1978 following his graduation from the University of Maryland; he then worked briefly for the Baltimore News-American in 1981. He began covering baseball as the Texas Rangers beat writer for The Dallas Morning News where he worked from 1981 to 1985. Kurkjian then covered the Baltimore Orioles for the The Baltimore Sun beginning in 1986. He was a senior writer for Sports Illustrated from 1989–1997 as well as a reporter for CNN/SI from 1996–1997.
He authored his first book, America's Game, in 2000 and released his second book, Is This a Great Game, or What?: From A-Rod's Heart to Zim's Head—My 25 Years in Baseball in May 2007. He was the 1999 and 2007 Commencement speaker at his alma mater, Walter Johnson High School, the 2008 speaker at Seneca Valley High School, and also delivered the winter commencement speech at the University of Maryland on December 19, 2007.
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Tim Lincecum
Timothy Leroy Lincecum (pronounced /ˈlɪnsɨkʌm/ LIN-sə-kum; born June 15, 1984) is an American professional baseball starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He has been nicknamed both "The Freak" and "The Franchise."
Lincecum is known for his long stride, unorthodox mechanics, and ability to generate high velocity despite his slight build: originally listed as 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) and 175 pounds. In part to add strength and durability, Lincecum put on about 15 pounds prior to the 2011 season.
Lincecum attended Liberty Senior High School in Renton, Washington, where he played two seasons of varsity baseball. As a senior he won state player of the year and led his school to the 2003 3A state championship title.
After high school Lincecum went on to pitch for the University of Washington. In 2006 he finished with a 12–4 record and a 1.94 ERA, 199 strikeouts, and three saves in 125⅓ innings as a Washington Husky. He won the 2006 Golden Spikes Award, which is awarded annually to the best amateur baseball player.
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Tim Raines
Timothy Raines (born September 16, 1959 in Sanford, Florida), nicknamed "Rock", is a former American professional baseball player. He played as a left fielder in Major League Baseball for six teams from 1979 to 2002 and was best known for his 13 seasons with the Montreal Expos. He is regarded as one of the best leadoff hitters and baserunners in baseball history.
The Montreal Expos selected Raines in the fifth round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft. After debuting with six games as a pinch runner in 1979, he played briefly as a second baseman for the Expos in 1980 but soon switched to playing the outfield, and rapidly became a fan favorite due to his aggressiveness on the basepaths. In his strike-interrupted 1981 rookie season, he batted .304 and stole 71 bases – then the second most ever by a rookie, behind only Benny Kauff's 75 for the 1914 Indianapolis Hoosiers in the Federal League. Raines was caught stealing for the first time in 1981, after having begun his career with a major league record 27 consecutive successful stolen bases. Raines was the runner-up for the National League's Rookie of the Year Award in 1981, which was won by Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela.
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Tim Salmon
Timothy James "Tim" Salmon (born August 24, 1968 in Long Beach, California) is a former Major League Baseball right fielder and designated hitter who played his entire career with the California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels (appearing with the team under all three of its recent names). Known affectionately among Angels fans as the King Fish, he is considered one of the greatest players in the Angels' franchise history.
Salmon who had been selected in the third round of the Major League Baseball Draft in 1989 out of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, made his major league debut in 1992, the same year that he won the Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award.
In his first full season the next year, when he hit 31 home runs with a .918 OPS, Salmon was named the American League's Rookie of the Year for 1993 and quickly became a favorite of the Angels' organization and a household name among the team's fans. He maintained his status as one of the league's elite power-hitting outfielders throughout the decade. He finished seventh in MVP voting totals for the first time in 1995, when he won a Silver Slugger Award, finished third in the league with a .330 batting average, and posted an OPS above 1.000. That year, he was the first major league player to get a hit off future closer for the New York Yankees, Mariano Rivera. He finished seventh again in 1997 when he had a career high 129 RBIs. After playing in fewer than 100 games in 1999, he tied a career high 34 home runs in 2000. From 1993 to 2000 he only had two OPS lines below .900 and he never finished below .860.
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Tim Wakefield
Timothy Stephen Wakefield (born August 2, 1966) is a retired American professional baseball pitcher. Wakefield began his pitching career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but is most remembered for his 17-year tenure with the Boston Red Sox, starting in 1995 and ending with his retirement in 2012 as the longest-serving player on the team. Wakefield, at the time of his retirement, was the oldest current active player in the majors, and one of the last knuckleballers; the other being R. A. Dickey.
Wakefield won his 200th career game on September 13, 2011 against the Toronto Blue Jays, and is third on the Boston Red Sox with 186 team victories, behind both Cy Young and Roger Clemens, who have 192 each. He is second in all-time wins at Fenway Park with 97, behind Roger Clemens' 100, and is first all-time in innings pitched by a Red Sox pitcher, with 2,944 (through July 24, 2011), having surpassed Roger Clemens' total of 2,777 on June 8, 2010.
Wakefield was nominated eight times for the Roberto Clemente Award, winning the award in 2010.
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Tino Martinez
Constantino "Tino" Martinez (born December 7, 1967 in Tampa, Florida) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman.
Martinez was the first round draft pick for the Seattle Mariners in 1988 out of the University of Tampa where he starred during his time on campus. He began his Major League career in 1990 and has played for the Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and rejoined the Yankees in the 2005 season. During his 16-year MLB career, he scored 1,008 runs, drove in 1,271 runs, and hit 339 home runs. He had 100 or more RBI in six different seasons and was twice named to the All-Star team.
Tino Martinez was born and raised in neighborhood of West Tampa in Tampa, Florida. His grandfather owned a small cigar factory in which Tino, his brothers, and childhood friend and fellow future major-leaguer Luis Gonzalez worked as young boys . Tino attended St. Joseph School in West Tampa until 8th grade, then attended Tampa Catholic High School for 9th and 10th grade before transferring to Jefferson High School for his final two years of high school. After graduation, he enrolled at the University of Tampa.
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Todd Jones
Todd Barton Jones (born April 24, 1968 in Marietta, Georgia) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was an effective middle reliever for a variety of teams, and he had an up-and-down career as a closer.[citation needed] On September 16, 2007, Jones became the 21st member of the 300-save club and later ended his career as the Detroit Tigers' all-time leader in saves.
Jones graduated from Osborne High School in Marietta, Georgia and attended Jacksonville State University in Alabama. He was drafted by the Houston Astros in the first round of 1989 Major League Baseball Draft and made his major league debut during the 1993 season.
Initially used mainly as a setup man, Jones soon became a closer for the Astros. His best years came with the Detroit Tigers from 1997–2001, when he logged 142 saves. On April 22, 1999, Jones earned career save number 100. On September 27, 1999, Jones threw the last official pitch at Tiger Stadium, striking out Carlos Beltran as the Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals 8–2.
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Todd Stottlemyre
Todd Vernon Stottlemyre (born May 20, 1965 in Yakima, Washington) is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played 15 seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks. He is the son of Mel Stottlemyre, former New York Yankees pitcher. His brother Mel Stottlemyre, Jr. also pitched in the major leagues for the Kansas City Royals in 1990.
He was selected by the Blue Jays out of UNLV as the third overall pick in the 1985 MLB draft.
His fastball, average (high) velocity, clocked at around 92-93 mph. Stottlemyre possessed above average control of his pitches. His style of pitching was direct; using an inside fastball to challenge opposing hitters. Furthermore, he possessed an above average slider, curveball, and later on, a splitter (adopted from teammate Dave Stewart). As an above average pitcher, Stottlemyre made a direct contribution to the Blue Jays' 1992 & 1993 World Series victories. His weaknesses as a pitcher, although subject to debate, were his predictability of confronting opposing hitters; pitches over the 'heart' of home plate; hittable fastballs, and flat curveballs. Changing speeds was not a part of his repertoire; Stottlemyre did not possess an effective 'changeup.'
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Tom Brady
Thomas Edward Patrick "Tom" Brady, Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football at Michigan, Brady was drafted by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft.
In Brady's ten seasons as a starter, the Patriots have earned trips to the Super Bowl in half of them (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLII, and XLVI), winning three of them (XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX). He has also won two Super Bowl MVP awards (XXXVI and XXXVIII), has been selected to seven Pro Bowls (and invited to eight, although he declined the 2006 invitation), and holds the NFL record for most touchdown passes in a single regular season. His career postseason record is 16–5. He also helped set the record for the longest consecutive win streak in NFL history with 21 straight wins over two seasons (2003–04), and in 2007 he led the Patriots to the first undefeated regular season since the institution of the 16-game schedule. Brady has the fourth-highest career passer rating of all time (96.4) among quarterbacks with at least 1,500 career passing attempts.
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Tom Glavine
Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is a retired American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher.
With 164 victories during the 1990s, Glavine was the second winningest pitcher in the National League, second only to teammate Greg Maddux's 176. He was a five-time 20-game winner and two-time Cy Young Award winner, and one of only 24 pitchers (and just 6 left-handers) in major league history to earn 300 career wins.
Glavine was born in Concord, Massachusetts and raised in Billerica, Massachusetts. Glavine attended Billerica Memorial High School, where he was an excellent student and a letterman in ice hockey as well as baseball. He was a four-year member of the honor roll and the National Honor Society. In hockey, as a senior, he was named the Merrimack Valley's Most Valuable Player. In baseball, he led his team to the Division I North Title and the Eastern Massachusetts Championship as a senior. Glavine graduated from high school in 1984 with honors. He was elected to the Billerica Memorial/Howe High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993.
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Tom Gordon
Thomas Gordon (born November 18, 1967, in Sebring, Florida), nicknamed "Flash", is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played with the Kansas City Royals (1988–95), Boston Red Sox (1996–99), Chicago Cubs (2001–02), Houston Astros (2002), Chicago White Sox (2003), New York Yankees (2004–05), Philadelphia Phillies (2006–08) and the Arizona Diamondbacks (2009).
Gordon attended Avon Park High School in Avon Park, Florida, and was a letterman in baseball.
Gordon began his career as a starting pitcher with the Kansas City Royals, first appearing in five games at the age of 20 late in the 1988 season. He became an immediate sensation in Kansas City the following year, posting a 17-9 record and a 3.64 ERA in his first full season, and he finished second in the 1989 Rookie of the Year balloting. Gordon also recorded 153 strikeouts in 1989, the tenth highest total in the American League, all of which earned him the nickname "Flash."
Gordon continued to post top-10 strikeout totals during the 1990 and 1991 seasons, but his number of wins dropped each year while his ERA crept upwards. Finally, in 1992 Gordon had one of the worst season of his career, posting a 6-10 record and a 4.59 ERA. He bounced back with seasons of 11 or 12 wins from 1993 to 1995, but he never quite regained his rookie form. Prior to the 1996 season, Gordon left Kansas City and signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox.
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Tom Seaver
George Thomas "Tom" Seaver (born November 17, 1944), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "The Franchise", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched from 1967-1986 for four different teams in his career, but is noted primarily for his time with the New York Mets. During a 20-year career, Seaver compiled 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts, 61 shutouts and a 2.86 earned run average. In 1992, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the highest percentage ever recorded (98.84%), and has the only plaque at Cooperstown wearing a New York Mets hat. As of 2010, Tom Seaver and Gil Hodges (played for the Mets in 1962-63) are the only Met players to have their jersey numbers retired by the team (Gil Hodges' number was retired as a manager even though he also played for the Mets).
He won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1967, and three NL Cy Young Awards as the league's best pitcher. Seaver is the Mets' all-time leader in wins, and is considered by many baseball experts as one of the best starting pitchers in the history of baseball.
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Tom Tresh
Thomas Michael Tresh (September 20, 1938 – October 15, 2008) was a Major League Baseball infielder and outfielder who played for the New York Yankees (1961–69) and Detroit Tigers (1969). Tresh was a switch-hitter and threw right-handed. He was the son of catcher Mike Tresh.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, Tresh started his career with the Yankees as a shortstop when Tony Kubek was in military service. On Opening Day of the 1962 season, Tresh was in the Yankees' lineup at shortstop. Not until Derek Jeter in 1996 would another Yankee rookie shortstop gain such an honor.
In 1962 he won both the MLB Rookie of the Year and The Sporting News Rookie of the Year awards, after hitting .286 (the highest mark of his career) with 20 home runs and 93 RBI in 157 games. When Kubek returned during the 1962 season, Tresh was moved to left field. At various times with the Yankees, Tresh played shortstop, outfield, and third base. In Game 5 of the 1962 World Series, he broke a 2–2 tie with a 3-run home run in the bottom of the 8th inning off Jack Sanford (who had won 24 games that season), leading to a 5–3 Yankee win and a 3–2 lead in games.
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Tom Verducci
Tom Verducci is an American sportswriter who is currently writing for Sports Illustrated and its online magazine SI.com. He writes primarily about baseball. He is also a field reporter for the MLB postseason on TBS. He also appears on Hot Stove and MLB Tonight on MLB Network as a baseball insider.
He was born in East Orange, New Jersey and was raised in Glen Ridge. He attended Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, New Jersey and then went onto Penn State and graduated with a B.A. in Journalism.
After a one-year stint at Florida Today, he moved to New York Newsday in 1983 and became a columnist there in 1990. He began writing for Sports Illustrated in 1993.
His most recent work includes a co-authored book with Joe Torre titled The Yankee Years. The book chronicles various stories from the New York Yankees' dugout and the Yankees' baseball organization.
He currently lives in Belle Mead, New Jersey with his wife and two sons, Adam and Ben. His brother Frank Verducci is the offensive line coach at the University of Florida.
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Tommie Agee
Tommie Lee Agee (August 9, 1942 – January 22, 2001) was a Major League Baseball center fielder most noted for making two of the greatest catches in World Series history, both of which occurred in game three of the 1969 World Series.
Agee was born in Magnolia, Alabama, and played baseball and football at Mobile County Training School with future New York Mets teammate Cleon Jones. After one season at Grambling State University (1961), Agee signed with the Cleveland Indians for a $60,000 bonus.
After two seasons in the Indians' farm system, Agee received a September call-up to Cleveland in 1962. With the Indians already behind 11-1 to the Minnesota Twins, Agee made his major league debut on September 14 at Metropolitan Stadium pinch-hitting for pitcher Bill Dailey in the ninth inning. He received September call-ups to the majors the following two seasons as well, playing a total of 31 games with the Indians in which he batted .170 with one home run and five runs batted in. Following the 1964 season, he was dealt to the Chicago White Sox with Tommy John as part of a three team blockbuster trade between the Indians, ChiSox and Kansas City Athletics that returned All-Star Rocky Colavito to the Indians.
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Tommy John
Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball whose 288 career victories rank as the seventh highest total among left-handers in major league history. He is also known for the revolutionary surgery, now named after him, which was performed on a damaged ligament in his pitching arm.
John was an outstanding basketball player at Gerstmeyer High School in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he held the city single game scoring record. Choosing baseball when he realized he would not go on to play professional basketball, John signed with the Cleveland Indians and made his major league debut at twenty years-old in 1963. Following two partial seasons with the Indians, John showed occasional excellence during seven respectable years as a starting pitcher with the Chicago White Sox. However, it was a trade before the 1972 season to the Los Angeles Dodgers for mercurial slugger Dick Allen that began a skein of John's most famous years, first with the Dodgers and subsequently with the New York Yankees, where he posted a pair of 20-win seasons and was twice an All-Star. John was also named an All-Star in 1968 with the White Sox and 1978 with LA. He played in all three Yankees vs. Dodgers World Series of his era (1977, 1978 and 1981), having switched over to the Yankees by the time the Dodgers won the Series in 1981.
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Tomoya Satozaki
Tomoya Satozaki (里崎 智也, Satozaki Tomoya?, born May 20, 1976 in Naruto, Tokushima, Japan) is a Japanese professional baseball player. He is currently with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball.
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Tony Cloninger
Tony Lee Cloninger (born August 13, 1940 in Cherryville, North Carolina), is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher who played for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves (1961–68), the Cincinnati Reds (1968–71), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1972). He batted and threw right-handed.
A power pitcher, Cloninger compiled a career 113-97 record with 1,120 strikeouts and a 4.07 ERA in 1,767.2 innings pitched. He enjoyed his best year for the 1965 Braves, with career highs in wins (24), strikeouts (211), ERA (3.29), complete games (16), innings (279) and games started (40).
Regarded as a tough fireball pitcher, Cloninger also was a dangerous power hitter. He compiled a career batting average of .192, with 67 RBI and 11 home runs, including five in the 1966 season. On July 3, 1966, in a Braves 17-3 win over the Giants at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, Cloninger helped his team's cause with two grand slams and nine RBIs. Cloninger became the first player in the National League, and only pitcher to date, to hit two grand slams in the same game. Cloninger finished his career pitching with Cincinnati and St. Louis.
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Tony Fernández
Octavio Antonio Fernández Castro (born June 30, 1962), better known as Tony Fernández, is a former Major League Baseball player most noted for his defensive skills setting a record for shortstops with a .992 fielding percentage in 1989.
Fernández was first scouted by the Toronto Blue Jays' famed Latin America scout Epy Guerrero and was signed as an undrafted free agent. Promoted to the Blue Jays in 1983, Fernández became the team's full-time shortstop in 1985, and contributed significantly to the team winning its first division title that year. Fernández continued to star for the Jays for several years afterwards.
Before the 1991 season, Fernández was traded to the San Diego Padres in a major deal that also sent Jays star Fred McGriff to San Diego in exchange for Roberto Alomar and Joe Carter. Fernández played well for San Diego for two years and then began the 1993 season with the New York Mets. After a disappointing start, he was traded back to the Blue Jays. He played well for the remainder of the season and was instrumental in helping the Blue Jays win the 1993 World Series. In that World Series, Fernández drove in nine runs, a record for a shortstop.
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Tony Gwynn
Anthony Keith "Tony" Gwynn, Sr. (born May 9, 1960), nicknamed Mr. Padre and Captain Video, is a retired American Major League Baseball right fielder. He is statistically one of the best and most consistent hitters in baseball history. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the San Diego Padres (1982–2001). He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on January 9, 2007 and was inducted on July 29. He is the first National League player born during the 1960s to earn the honor (Kirby Puckett was the first American Leaguer). He batted and threw left-handed.
Despite playing much of his career at a "power position" (right field is known for producing sluggers) during a time when home runs were at an all-time high, he was not a home run threat, never hitting more than 17 in any one season during his major league career. Instead, Gwynn made a name for himself by being one of the most consistent contact hitters in the game's history. Gwynn hit .338 for his career and won eight National League batting titles. He struck out only 434 times in 9,288 career at-bats, and never batted below .309 in any full season.
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Tony Kubek
Anthony Christopher "Tony" Kubek (born October 12, 1935,Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a retired American professional baseball player and television broadcaster.
During his nine-year playing career with the New York Yankees, Kubek played in six World Series in the late 1950s and early 1960s, starting in 37 World Series games. For NBC television, he later broadcast twelve World Series between 1968 and 1982, and fourteen League Championship Series between 1969 and 1989.
Kubek received the Ford C. Frick Award in 2009.
A left-handed batter, Kubek signed his first professional contract with the Yankees and rose rapidly through the team's farm system. He was 20 years of age when he played his first game in Major League Baseball in 1957, and—except for one year (1962) spent largely in the U.S. military—remained with the Yankees until his retirement due to a back injury at the close of the 1965 season. In his prime he formed a top double play combination with second baseman (and roommate) Bobby Richardson on an infield that also featured third baseman Clete Boyer.
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Tony Lazzeri
Anthony Michael "Tony" Lazzeri (December 6, 1903 – August 6, 1946) was an American Major League Baseball player during the 1920s and 1930s, predominantly with the New York Yankees. He was part of the famed "Murderers' Row" Yankee batting lineup of the late 1920s (most notably the legendary 1927 team), along with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Bob Meusel. The native of San Francisco, California, was a member of the original American League All-Star team in 1933. He was nicknamed "Poosh 'Em Up" by Italian-speaking fans, from a mistranslation of an Italian phrase meaning to "hit it out" (hit a home run).
Lazzeri is one of only 14 major league baseball players to hit for the natural cycle (hitting a single, double, triple and home run in sequence) and the only player to complete a natural cycle with a grand slam.
Lazzeri, a second baseman, first gained notice in the Pacific Coast League as a member of the Salt Lake City Bees, where he slugged 60 home runs and had 222 RBI in 1925.
He entered the major leagues in 1926 as a member of the New York Yankees. In his rookie season, he hit 18 homers and had 114 RBI. As a member of the Yankees through 1937, he averaged 79 runs, 14 home runs, 96 RBI and 12 stolen bases, including seven seasons with over 100 RBI and five seasons batting .300 or higher (including a high of .354 in 1929). During this period, the Yankees won six American League pennants (1926, 1927, 1928, 1932, 1936 and 1937) and five World Series championships (1927, 1928, 1932, 1936 and 1937).
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Tony Oliva
Tony Pedro Oliva (born Antonio Oliva Lopez Hernandes Javique on July 20, 1938 in Pinar del Río, Cuba) is a former Major League Baseball right fielder and designated hitter. He played his entire 15-year baseball career for the Minnesota Twins (1962–1976). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. His career was hampered by knee injuries, forcing him to become a designated hitter during his final four years of baseball.
Oliva was born in Pinar del Río Province, Cuba. He played baseball weekly with his father, brothers, and neighbors in a vacant lot near the Olivas' farm. Oliva's father, who worked in a tobacco factory and was famous for rolling the leaves to make the best cigars, was also a former semi-professional player who instructed Oliva and helped him become "the best hitter in Pinar del Río". A scout for the Minnesota Twins noticed him and brought him to the United States to play professionally. He was reluctant to leave his mother, father, and nine siblings, but his father encouraged him to become "rich and famous" in America.
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Tony Peña
Antonio Francisco Peña Padilla (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈtoni ˈpeɲa]; born June 4, 1957, in Monte Cristi, Dominican Republic) is a former professional baseball player, manager and current coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Pirates, Cardinals, Red Sox, Indians, White Sox, and Astros. Peña was the manager of the Kansas City Royals between 2002 and 2005. He currently is the bench coach for the New York Yankees. As a player, Peña was known for his defensive abilities as well as his unorthodox squat behind home plate.
Peña was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as an amateur free agent in 1975. Originally an outfielder, he didn't start playing as a catcher until 1977 while playing in the minor leagues. As a catcher, Peña adopted an unorthodox squat behind the plate when there were no runners on base, extending his left leg straight out while squatting on his right leg. He did this in order to help his pitchers keep their pitches low in the strike zone. In 1979 while playing for the Buffalo Bisons, Peña hit for a .313 batting average along with 34 home runs and 97 runs batted in. The following year with the Portland Beavers he posted a .323 batting average with a .367 on base percentage before making his major league debut with the Pirates on September 1, 1980.
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Tony Pérez
Atanasio Pérez Rigal (born May 14, 1942 in Ciego de Ávila, Cuba), more commonly known as Tony Pérez, is a former Major League Baseball player. He was also known by the nickname "Big Dog," "Big Doggie," and "Doggie."
Until he was traded in December, 1976, Pérez was a key member of Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine". Apart from his years with the Reds (1964–76, 1984–86), he also played for the Montreal Expos (1977–79), Boston Red Sox (1980–82) and Philadelphia Phillies (1983). He finished his career with a .279 batting average, 379 home runs, 1652 runs batted in and 1272 runs scored. After retiring, Pérez went on to manage the Reds and Florida Marlins. He currently holds the title of Special Assistant to the General Manager with the Marlins. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
Tony Pérez was named as the Most Valuable Player in the Pacific Coast League in 1964 when he played for the San Diego Padres (then a minor league club). Perez hit .309 with 34 home runs and 107 RBI for the Padres. His performance earned him a promotion to the Reds in the homestretch of the 1964 season.
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Tony Tarasco
Anthony Giacinto Tarasco (born December 9, 1970 in New York City, New York) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder for the Atlanta Braves, Montreal Expos, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, and New York Mets from 1993 to 2002.
Tarasco was involved in a controversial play in the 1996 American League Championship Series while playing right field for the Baltimore Orioles. While fielding a fly ball hit by Derek Jeter, 12-year old-fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the fence and caught the ball. A home run was called, although the correct call was fan interference. The play was the turning point in the series, which the Yankees won.
He also played with the Hanshin Tigers in Japanese Central League in 2000.
He is the cousin of Phillies shortstop and 2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins.
He had a cameo appearance in the movie Talent for the Game in a Kansas City Royals uniform. He is currently the minor league coordinator for the Washington Nationals.
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Travis Fryman
David Travis Fryman (born March 25, 1969 in Lexington, Kentucky) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and shortstop, and currently a hitting instructor for the Cleveland Indians farm system. He also managed the Mahoning Valley Scrappers from 2008 to 2010.
The Detroit Tigers drafted Fryman in the first round of the 1987 Major League Baseball Draft out of Tate High School in Pensacola, Florida. He debuted with the Tigers at Tiger Stadium on July 7, 1990 in a 4-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals at short, but ended up seeing more time at third over the course of his first season in the majors.
He split time between short and third in 1991 before an injury to Alan Trammell allowed him to inherit the starting shortstop job in 1992. He clubbed twenty home runs and drove in 96 to earn his first All-Star selection, and win the American League Silver Slugger Award at his position.
Fryman started the 1993 at short, but earned the third base job by the end of the season. He remained at third for Detroit until joining the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks via a trade following the 1997 season for Matt Drews. Two weeks after joining the Diamondbacks, he was traded again, along with pitcher, Tom Martin, to the Indians for third baseman Matt Williams.
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Trevor Hoffman
Trevor William Hoffman (born October 13, 1967) is an American former baseball relief pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1993 to 2010. A long-time closer, Hoffman pitched for the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, and the Milwaukee Brewers, including more than 15 years for the Padres. He was the major leagues' first player to reach the 500- and 600-save milestones, and was the all-time saves leader from 2006 until 2011.
Hoffman played shortstop collegiately at the University of Arizona and was drafted in the 11th round by the Cincinnati Reds. After not having much success batting, Hoffman was converted to a pitcher, throwing up to 95 miles per hour (mph). The Marlins acquired him in the 1992 expansion draft, and he pitched in Florida until he was traded to the Padres mid-season in 1993 in a deal that sent star Gary Sheffield to the Marlins. Hoffman recorded 20 saves in 1994 in his first season as Padres closer, and in the following years, he became the face of the franchise after Tony Gwynn retired. He collected at least 30 saves each year for the next 14 years, except for 2003 when he missed most of the year recovering from shoulder surgery. After San Diego did not re-sign him, Hoffman pitched two years with the Brewers before retiring in 2010.
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Tris Speaker
Tristram E. Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "Spoke" and "The Grey Eagle", was an American baseball player. Considered one of the best offensive and defensive center fielders in the history of Major League Baseball, he compiled a career batting average of .345 (sixth all-time), and still holds the record of 792 career doubles. Defensively, his career records for assists, double plays, and unassisted double plays by an outfielder still stand. His fielding glove was known as the place "where triples go to die."
Speaker led the Boston Red Sox to two World Series championships, and then carried the Cleveland Indians, as player-manager, to that team's first-ever World Series title. His innovations, most notably the platoon system and the infield rotation play, revolutionized the game. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in its second year of voting, 1937.
Tris Speaker was born on April 4, 1888 in Hubbard, Texas, to Archie and Nancy Poer Speaker. As a youth, he suffered a fractured right arm in a fall from a horse, forcing him to throw left-handed, which he continued to do throughout his baseball career. In 1905, Speaker played his only year of college baseball, for Fort Worth Polytechnic Institute. His left arm was severely injured in a football accident, to the extent that surgeons advised amputation. Tris refused, and fully recovered.
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Trot Nixon
Christopher Trotman Nixon (born April 11, 1974) is an American retired professional baseball right fielder. He played from 1996 through 2008 for three different teams, primarily with the Boston Red Sox. He currently serves as co-host/analyst for "The 5th Quarter," a high school football highlight show on WWAY-TV in Wilmington,North Carolina.
Nixon was born in Durham, North Carolina and attended New Hanover High School in Wilmington, North Carolina. As a senior, he was named the State Player of the Year in both football and baseball. In football, as a senior, he broke school passing records held by former National Football League quarterbacks Sonny Jurgensen and Roman Gabriel. Nixon was slated to join the North Carolina State football team on a scholarship before being drafted by the Boston Red Sox. In baseball, as a senior, he was named the Baseball America High School Player of the Year and the State Player of the Year, and helped lead his team to the State 4A title, and finished his senior season with a .512 batting average, 12 home runs and a state-record 56 RBI, and pitched 40 innings with a 12–0 record and a 0.40 ERA.
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Troy Glaus
Troy Edward Glaus ( /ˈɡlɔːs/; born August 3, 1976 in Tarzana, California) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and third baseman. Previously, Glaus played with the Anaheim Angels (1998-2004), Arizona Diamondbacks (2005), Toronto Blue Jays (2006-2007), St. Louis Cardinals (2008-2009), and the Atlanta Braves (2010). Glaus lettered in baseball while attending UCLA. He bats and throws right-handed.
Through 10-plus seasons, Glaus has hit .256 with 304 home runs and 877 RBI in 1395 games. In 19 postseason games, he hit .347 with nine home runs and 16 RBI. Glaus has been selected to four All-Star Games.
Glaus began his career with the Angels in 1998 and was installed as the team's starting third baseman in 1999.
Glaus had a breakout season in 2000, becoming the all time single season home run leader for third basemen in Angels history with 47 while leading third baseman in adjusted range factor (2.95) in 2000.
Glaus started in the 2001 MLB All-Star Game and posted his second consecutive 40 home run season with 41 on the year.
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Tug McGraw
Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. (August 30, 1944 – January 5, 2004) was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher and the father of Country music singer Tim McGraw and actor/TV personality Mark McGraw and Cari McGraw. He is likely best remembered for recording the final out, via a strikeout of the Kansas City Royals' Willie Wilson, in the 1980 World Series, bringing the Philadelphia Phillies their first world championship. He was the last active major league player to have played under manager Casey Stengel.
McGraw was born in Martinez, California to Frank Edwin "Big Mac" McGraw, Sr. and Mable McKenna. He got the nickname "Tug" from his mother because of the particularly aggressive way he breast-fed. Frank Senior was the great-grandson of Irish immigrants. McGraw graduated from St. Vincent Ferrer High School in Vallejo, California in 1962. He enrolled in Solano Community College, and signed with the New York Mets as an amateur free agent on June 12, 1964 upon graduation.
McGraw was used both as a starting pitcher and out of the bullpen in the minors, and after just one season in the Mets' farm system, where he went 6–4 with a 1.64 earned run average in Rookie and class A ball, McGraw made the Mets out of Spring training 1965 without ever having played double or triple A ball. That same year, when asked if he preferred the new astroturf on the field at the Houston Astrodome to real grass, he said, "I don't know, I never smoked AstroTurf".
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Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team's player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1936, Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes.
Cobb is widely credited with setting 90 Major League Baseball records during his career. He still holds several records as of 2012, including the highest career batting average (.366 or .367, depending on source) and most career batting titles with 11 (or 12, depending on source). He retained many other records for almost a half century or more, including most career hits until 1985 (4,189 or 4,191, depending on source), most career runs (2,245 or 2,246 depending on source) until 2001, most career games played (3,035) and at bats (11,429 or 11,434 depending on source) until 1974, and the modern record for most career stolen bases (892) until 1977. He committed 271 errors in his career, the most by any American League outfielder.
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Tyrell Godwin
Carlton Tyrell Godwin (born July 10, 1979 in Wilmington, North Carolina) is a former Major League Baseball player who played for the Washington Nationals.
Godwin played both football and baseball collegiately while attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on the prestigious Morehead Scholarship.
Godwin played primarily on special teams during the 1997 and 1998 seasons, leading the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 27.8 kickoff return average in 1998 and setting a school record with a 100 yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Stanford on September 19, 1998. Godwin did not play football for the Tar Heels after the 1998 season, deciding instead to concentrate on baseball.
Godwin played 4 years of baseball for the Tar Heels, batting .337 ins 1998, .371 in 1999, .363 in 2000 and .327 in 2001. Godwin was a 3rd team All-American in 2000. Godwin also played for the New Orleans Zephyrs AAA Minor League team in the 2005 and 2006 seasons.
Godwin was drafted by the New York Yankees (in 1997) and the Texas Rangers (in 2000) but did not sign with either team. He eventually signed with the Toronto Blue Jays after being drafted in the 3rd round (91st overall) of the 2001 amateur draft.
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Vern Law
Vernon Sanders Law (born March 12, 1930 in Meridian, Idaho) is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for 16 seasons (1950-1951 and 1954-1967) for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Law was a member of the National League All Star Team in 1960. He won the Cy Young Award, and led the National League in complete games that year.
The interruption in his baseball career between the 1951 and 1954 seasons were due a stint in U.S. military service.
He is the pitching coach for Provo High School (PHS) varsity baseball team (PHS is located across the street from BYU where his son is the head coach), and is an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. During his playing career, Law was tagged with the nickname "Deacon" by Pirate broadcaster Bob Prince. According to Law, it was given to him by former Pirate teammate Wally Westlake because he is a member of the ordained priesthood of the LDS Church.
Law has been credited with saying, "A winner never quits and a quitter never wins." and "Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterwards."
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Vernon Wells
Vernon M. Wells III (born December 8, 1978) is a Major League Baseball player for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Wells has appeared on three All-Star teams in his career, been awarded three Gold Glove Awards, and one Silver Slugger Award. He is second all time for the Toronto Blue Jays in career hits, home runs, doubles, runs, RBI and total bases.
Wells was born in Shreveport, Louisiana to a father who played CFL football, and grew up in Arlington, Texas, where his family moved in 1988. In 1993, Wells entered Arlington's Bowie High School where he played quarterback on the football team and was an outfielder on the baseball team. In his senior year, he batted .565 with 7 home runs and 20 RBI. Before entering the Major League Baseball Draft, Wells signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Texas at Austin to play baseball and football (as a wide receiver).
The Toronto Blue Jays made Wells round one's fifth pick in the 1997 amateur draft. He spent several years as a top prospect in the Blue Jays organization, starting with the St. Catharines Stompers, Toronto’s Class-A team in the short-season New York – Penn League. In 1999 he played in the Australian Baseball League with the Sydney Storm. From 1999 through 2001, Wells was a regular September call-up and played in 57 games.
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Wade Boggs
Wade Anthony Boggs (born June 15, 1958) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He spent his 18-year baseball career primarily with the Boston Red Sox, but also played for the New York Yankees, with whom he won his only World Series, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays, with whom he recorded his 3,000th hit. His hitting in the 1980s and 1990s made him a perennial contender for American League batting titles. Boggs was elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.
With 12 straight All-Star appearances, Boggs is third only to Brooks Robinson and George Brett in number of consecutive appearances as a third baseman. In 1999, he ranked number 95 on the Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was a nominee for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Boggs, a 1976 graduate of Plant High School in Tampa, Florida, currently resides in the Tampa Palms neighborhood of Tampa.
Boggs played in the longest game in professional baseball history as a member of the Pawtucket Red Sox in 1981 against Cal Ripken, Jr. and the Rochester Red Wings.
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Walt Dropo
Walter Dropo (January 30, 1923 – December 17, 2010), nicknamed "Moose", was an American college basketball standout and a professional baseball first baseman. During a 13-year career in Major League Baseball, he played for the Boston Red Sox (1949–1952), Detroit Tigers (1952–1954), Chicago White Sox (1955–1958), Cincinnati Redlegs (1958–1959) and Baltimore Orioles (1959–1961).
Dropo's Serbian parents emigrated from Mostar, then Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina), to start a new life. His father, Savo, worked at the local textile mill while also running their Connecticut family farm. Walter was raised in Moosup, Connecticut, where he played sandlot baseball with his brothers Milton and George, and attended Plainfield High School in the Central Village district of Plainfield, Connecticut, before attending the University of Connecticut.
While at the University of Connecticut Dropo played for the football team, basketball team and baseball team. Dropo left UConn as the school's all time leading scorer in basketball. Dropo was drafted in the first round of the 1947 BAA Draft by the Providence Steamrollers with the fourth overall pick. Dropo was also drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 9th round of the 1946 NFL Draft.
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Walt Weiss
Walter William Weiss (born November 28, 1963 in Tuxedo, New York) is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball.
Weiss was a member of the 1998 National League All-Star Team. He also won the 1988 Rookie of the Year award.
Initially drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 10th round of the 1982 amateur draft, Weiss decided to put his professional baseball career on hold and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In June 1985, Weiss was the 12th overall pick in the 1985 draft.
At the age of 23, Walt made his first major league appearance for the Oakland Athletics in September 1987. The club was impressed enough with the young shortstop's talent that they traded starter Alfredo Griffin that December, ensuring Weiss would assume a starting job in the 1988 season. Weiss' 1988 season did not seem very impressive offensively as he batted .250 with three home runs, 39 RBIs and 44 runs scored, but the budding shortstop's defensive wizardry helped lead the A's to their first American League pennant since 1974. The 1988 World Series was a rematch of the 1974 matchup, with the Los Angeles Dodgers winning the National League pennant. Weiss made a costly error in Game Four of the matchup that allowed the Dodgers to win the Series in five games. Following the season Weiss was awarded the American League Rookie of the Year Award, becoming the third consecutive Oakland player to win the award, following José Canseco and Mark McGwire. He was also selected for the 1988 Topps All-Star Rookie Roster.
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Warren Spahn
Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in the National League. He won 20 games each in 13 seasons, including a 23-7 record when he was age 42. Spahn was the 1957 Cy Young Award winner, and was the runner-up three times, all during the period when just one award was given. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, with 83% of the total vote. (His eligibility was delayed, under the rules of the time, by 2 years of token minor league play.)
Spahn won 363 games, more than any other left-handed pitcher in history, and more than any other pitcher who played his entire career in the post-1920 live-ball era. He is acknowledged as one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball history. The Warren Spahn Award, given to the major leagues' best left-handed pitcher, is named after him.
Regarded as a "thinking man's" pitcher who liked to outwit batters, Spahn once described his approach on the mound: "Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing."
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Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC (/ˈɡrɛtski/; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "The Great One", he has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters, players, and the NHL itself. He is the leading point-scorer in NHL history, with more assists than any other player has points, and is the only NHL player to total over 200 points in one season – a feat he accomplished four times. In addition, he tallied over 100 points in 16 professional seasons, 14 of them consecutive. At the time of his retirement in 1999, he held 40 regular-season records, 15 playoff records, and six All-Star records. In addition to being its greatest scorer, Gretzky was the most gentlemanly superstar in the modern history of the NHL. He won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and performance five times, and he often spoke out against fighting in hockey.
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Wes Parker
Maurice Wesley Parker III (born November 13, 1939 in Evanston, Illinois) is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1964 to 1972. He also played one season in Japan for the Nankai Hawks in 1974.
As of 2009, Parker is a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers organization serving as a representative of the Dodgers Legend Bureau.
Parker batted a career high of .319 in 1970, joining a small group of players to drive in over 100 runs while hitting 10 homers or less. Known as one of the slickest fielding first basemen of all time, he won the National League Gold Glove Award award for first base every year from 1967 to 1972. He was also part of the 1965 Dodgers World Series team. Parker was a Cincinnati Reds broadcaster in 1973.
In a game against the New York Mets in May, 1970, Parker hit for the cycle (single, double, triple, and home run in the same game). He was the last Los Angeles Dodger to accomplish that feat until Orlando Hudson did it against the San Francisco Giants on April 13, 2009.
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Whitey Ford
Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford (born October 21, 1928) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who spent his entire 16-year career with the New York Yankees. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
Ford was a native of the Astoria neighborhood of Queens, located in New York City. By the Triborough Bridge, it was a few miles from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Ford graduated from Aviation High School in nearby Sunnyside, Queens.
Ford was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent in 1947, and played his entire career with them. He was nicknamed "Whitey" while in the minor leagues for his light blond hair.
He began his Major League Baseball career on July 1, 1950 with the Yankees and made a spectacular debut, winning his first nine decisions before losing a game in relief. Ford received a handful of lower-ballot Most Valuable Player votes despite throwing just 112 innings, and was voted the AL Rookie of the Year by the Sporting News. (Walt Dropo was the Rookie of Year choice of the BBWAA.)
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Wikipedia Persondata
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Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays, Jr. (born May 6, 1931) is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility. Most baseball fans and historians agree that Mays was the greatest all-around baseball player to have played in the Major Leagues.
Mays won two MVP awards and tied Stan Musial's record with 24 appearances in the All-Star Game. Mays ended his career with 660 home runs, third at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-time. An outstanding center fielder, he won a record-tying twelve Gold Gloves starting the year the award was introduced six seasons into his career.
In 1999, Mays placed second on The Sporting News' List of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, making him the highest-ranking living player. Later that year, he was also elected to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Mays is one of five NL players to have eight consecutive 100-RBI seasons, along with Mel Ott, Sammy Sosa, Chipper Jones and Albert Pujols. Mays hit 50 or more home runs in both 1955 and 1965. This time span represents the longest stretch between 50 plus home run seasons for any player in Major League Baseball history.
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Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey (born January 10, 1938 in Mobile, Alabama), nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between 1959 and 1980. He batted and threw left-handed and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1986.
One of the most intimidating power hitters of his era, McCovey was called "the scariest hitter in baseball" by pitcher Bob Gibson, an assessment with which Reggie Jackson concurred. McCovey's powerful swing generated 521 home runs, 231 of which he hit in Candlestick Park, the most hit there by any player, and included a home run of Sept. 16, 1966 described as the longest ever hit in that stadium.
Prior to playing for the San Francisco Giants, McCovey played for a Giants' farm club in Dallas, Texas that was part of the Class AA Southern League. In that league, he did not participate when his team played in Shreveport, Louisiana due to segregation in that city. He later played for the Pacific Coast League Phoenix Giants just prior to joining the San Francisco Giants.
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Willie Randolph
Willie Larry Randolph (born July 6, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman and manager, most recently the third base coach for the Baltimore Orioles. During an 18-year baseball career, he played from 1975-1992 for six different teams, most notably for the New York Yankees.
At the end of his playing career, he ranked fifth in major league history in games at second base (2,152), ninth in putouts (4,859), seventh in assists (6,336), eighth in total chances (11,429), and third in double plays (1,547). Upon retiring as a player, he joined the Yankees as a coach for eleven years. He later served as manager of the New York Mets from 2005 to June 2008.
Randolph, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and attended and graduated from Samuel J. Tilden High School where he was a star athlete, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 7th round of the 1972 draft. He made his major league debut in 1975, and was at age 21 the sixth-youngest player in the National League.
In December 1975 he was traded by the Pirates with Ken Brett and Dock Ellis to the Yankees for Doc Medich.
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Willie Stargell
Wilver Dornell "Willie" Stargell (March 6, 1940 – April 9, 2001), nicknamed "Pops" in the later years of his career, was an American professional baseball player. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder and first baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1962-1982). Over his 21-year career with the Pirates, he batted .282, with 2,232 hits, 423 doubles, 475 home runs and 1540 runs batted in, helping his team capture six National League East division titles, two National League pennants and two World Series (1971, 1979). Stargell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988.
Stargell was born in Earlsboro, Oklahoma, but later moved to Alameda, California where he attended Encinal High School. He was signed by the Pirates at age 22, and made his Major League debut at the end of the 1962 season. He soon became a standout player, making his first of 7 trips to the All-Star Game in 1964.
Beloved in Pittsburgh for his style of play and affable manner, Stargell was known for hitting monstrous home runs, including 7 of the 16 balls ever hit completely out of Forbes Field and several of the upper-tier home runs at its successor, Three Rivers Stadium. At one time, Stargell held the record for the longest homer in nearly half of the National League parks. Standing 6 feet 2 inches, Stargell seemed larger, with his long arms and unique bat-handling practice of holding only the knob of the bat with his lower hand combining to provide extra bat extension, Stargell's swings seemed designed to hit home runs of the Ruthian variety. When most batters would use a simple lead-weighted bat in the on-deck circle, Stargell took to warming up with a sledgehammer, adding another layer of intimidation. While standing in the batter's box, he would windmill his bat until the pitcher started his windup.
wn.com/Willie_Stargell -
Yadel Martí
Yadel Martí Carrillo (born July 22, 1979 in Havana) is a Cuban right-handed pitcher in the Oakland Athletics organization.
Martí formerly played for the Cuba national baseball team and Industriales of the Cuban National Series.
Martí was 1-0 with two saves and no earned runs at the 2006 World Baseball Classic, helping Cuba to a second-place finish. He was named to the all-tournament team. He also pitched for Cuba in the 2007 Baseball World Cup, coming one out short of a seven-inning perfect game against Venezuela.
Martí was originally slated to play in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, but he and Yasser Gómez were kicked off the team in November 2008 for an unspecified reason, believed to be an attempted defection to the United States. Marti, Gómez and Juan Yasser Serrano reportedly defected from Cuba in December 2008 in an effort to get to the Dominican Republic to seek a Major League Baseball career. In August 2009, they were declared free agents.
Martí pitched in the Dominican Winter Baseball League in the winter of 2009-10 and joined Veracruz of the Mexican League in 2010, going 2-2 with a 4.19 ERA in eight starts.
wn.com/Yadel_Martí -
Yoandy Garlobo
Yoandy Garlobo Romay (born January 12, 1977 in Jovellanos, Matanzas Province, Cuba) is a baseball player who starred for Cuba at the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Garlobo was the designated hitter for Cuba at the tournament, where he had a .480 batting average—second only to Ken Griffey, Jr. among players with at least 20 plate appearances—and was named to the all-tournament team.
In Cuba, Garlobo is the DH for Matanzas of the Cuban National Series. During the 2005-06 season, he had a .407 batting average.
wn.com/Yoandy_Garlobo -
Yulieski Gourriel
Yulieski Gourriel (born June 9, 1984) is a Cuban baseball player. A member of Cuba's national team and Sancti Spíritus in the Cuban National Series, Gourriel is primarily a third baseman, though he has also played other positions, such as shortstop and 2nd base. The son of former Cuban player Lourdes Gourriel, Yulieski is currently regarded as the best player in Cuba and, at the World Baseball Classic in 2006, Major League Baseball scouts projected that Gourriel would be a first-round draft pick if he were eligible for the draft.
Gourriel's contributions helped the national team win a gold medal in the 2004 Summer Olympics and World Cup of Baseball championships in 2003 and 2005. During the 2005 World Cup, he led all batters with eight home runs.
He played second base for Cuba in the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic, making the final out for Cuba in their championship game loss to Japan. He batted .273 in the tournament, with a .342 on base percentage and a .515 slugging percentage. Coincidentally, later in the finals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Tournament, he again made the final out by grounding out into double play against South Korea.
wn.com/Yulieski_Gourriel -
Zoilo Almonte
Zoilo Almonte (born June 10, 1989) is an outfielder in the New York Yankees organization. He was added to the Yankees' 40 man roster after the 2011 season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
wn.com/Zoilo_Almonte -
Zoilo Versalles
Zoilo Casanova Versalles Rodriguez (/vɛərˈsaɪ/ vair-SY ; December 18, 1939 – June 9, 1995), nicknamed "Zorro", was a Cuban shortstop in Major League Baseball, who was considered a solid leadoff man, and a good baserunner whose speed helped him to cover a huge area at shortstop. He was the spark plug who led the 1965 Minnesota Twins to their first World Series, a year in which he also won the American League Most Valuable Player award.
Versalles was born in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, Cuba and he had difficulty adjusting to life in the U.S., due largely to the language barrier and his fear of failure, leaving him eternally homesick for his native Cuba. Versalles was signed as an amateur free agent by the Washington Senators prior to the 1958 season and was assigned to the Elmira Pioneers in the Class D New York-Penn League where he held his own and hit .292 in 124 games. The following spring, he went north with the Senators and made his major league debut on 1 April 1959. However, he was obviously overmatched and after hitting .153 with 15 strikeouts in 59 at-bats, Versalles was sent back down and spent the rest of the season with the Fox Cities Foxes in the Class B Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League, hitting .278 with 9 home runs. In 1960 Versalles split time between Washington and AAA Charleston trying to grow as a player and work through a stereotype that he was too sure of himself and was thus incapable of taking instruction. Although he hit .278 at Charleston with 8 home runs, 50 RBI and 24 stolen bases, he committed 42 errors and had only a .940 fielding percentage.
wn.com/Zoilo_Versalles -
Ángel Berroa
Ángel Maria Berroa Selmo (born January 27, 1978 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican professional baseball infielder. Berroa was selected as the 2003 American League Rookie of the Year. He currently plays for the New Jersey Jackals in the Canadian-American Association.
Berroa was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Oakland Athletics in 1997. He made his professional debut in the Arizona Fall League in 1999 and then played briefly with the A's Double-A team, the Midland Rockhounds. In 2000, with the Visalia Oaks in the Single-A California League he received an honorable mention on the California League All-Star team when he recorded 11 doubles and stole 11 bases in 129 games.
Berroa was acquired in 2001 by the Kansas City Royals from the Oakland Athletics in a three-way trade also involving the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Kansas City acquired Berroa, relief pitcher Roberto Hernández, and backup catcher A.J. Hinch in exchange for Johnny Damon and infielder Mark Ellis. He spent the 2001 season with the Single-A Wilmington Blue Rocks and the Double-A Wichita Wranglers.
wn.com/Ángel_Berroa
Jeter, Derek Filmography
- Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards 2012 (2012)
- 2012 MLB All-Star Game (2012)
- Jeter 3K (2011)
- Saturday Night Live Presents: Sports All-Stars (2010)
- The Other Guys (2010)
- 2009 MLB All-Star Game (2009)
- New York Yankees Victory Parade (2009)
- Ted Williams (2009)
- Saturday Night Live Sports Extra '09 (2009)
- Saturday Night Live Sports Extra '09 (2009)
- A Trivial Exclusion (2009)
- Champions of Gaming (2009)
- 2008 MLB All-Star Game (2008)
- Captain's Corner (2008)
- 2007 MLB All-Star Game (2007)
- Forbes Celebrity 100: Who Made Bank? (2006)
- 2006 MLB All-Star Game (2006)
- Through the Fire (2005)
- History Rings True: Red Sox Opening Day Ring Ceremony (2005)
- Faith Rewarded: The Historic Season of the 2004 Boston Red Sox (2004)
- Nine Innings from Ground Zero (2004)
- 2004 MLB All-Star Game (2004)
- 2004 World Series (2004)
- Reverse of the Curse of the Bambino (2004)
- 100 Years of the World Series (2003)
- Anger Management (2003)
- Coaching the Minors (2003)
- Hollywood Pinstripes (2003)
- The Tim McCarver Show (2002)
- 2002 MLB All-Star Game (2002)
- 2001 World Series (2001)
- 2001 MLB All-Star Game (2001)
- 2000 Official World Series (2000)
- 2000 MLB All-Star Game (2000)
- 1999 MLB All-Star Game (1999)
- 1998 MLB All-Star Game (1998)
- Macy's 21st Annual Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular (1997)
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Derek Jeter Highlights "The Captain"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:01
- Updated: 09 Jan 2013
A tribute to one of the greatest Shortstops to ever play the game. This video has highlights of Derek's greatest moments as a Yankee. If you like this video check out, "What is a Champion" www.youtube.com Watch the video to relive some of Jeter's greatest moments. Music Credit Emancipator-Lionsheart I do not own the audio or video.
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter_Highlights_The_Captain
A tribute to one of the greatest Shortstops to ever play the game. This video has highlights of Derek's greatest moments as a Yankee. If you like this video check out, "What is a Champion" www.youtube.com Watch the video to relive some of Jeter's greatest moments. Music Credit Emancipator-Lionsheart I do not own the audio or video.
Derek Jeter Fires Back At Skip Bayless
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:22
- Updated: 10 Jan 2013
Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith discuss Derek Jeter's reaction to Skip's comments about his bounce-back year.
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter_Fires_Back_At_Skip_Bayless
Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith discuss Derek Jeter's reaction to Skip's comments about his bounce-back year.
- published: 23 Aug 2012
- views: 66554
- author: ESPN
Derek Jeter's famous catch against the Red Sox
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:46
- Updated: 05 Jan 2013
Derek Jeter makes his signature catch against the Sox in a game in 2004
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter's_famous_catch_against_the_Red_Sox
Derek Jeter makes his signature catch against the Sox in a game in 2004
- published: 22 Apr 2012
- views: 68207
- author: Izzy Weiss
HBO Sports: Derek Jeter 3K Trailer (HBO)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:32
- Updated: 08 Jan 2013
Go behind the scenes of Derek Jeter's quest for his 3000th career hit. Premieres on Thursday, July 28th. For more on HBO Sports, visit itsh.bo Watch HBO Sports series and events online at HBO GO® itsh.bo With HBO GO, you can watch your favorite HBO Sports series and events on your iPad® (itsh.bo iPhone® (itsh.bo or Android™ (itsh.bo smartphone. Free with your HBO subscription through participating TV providers. Connect with HBO Sports on Facebook www.facebook.com
http://wn.com/HBO_Sports_Derek_Jeter_3K_Trailer_HBO
Go behind the scenes of Derek Jeter's quest for his 3000th career hit. Premieres on Thursday, July 28th. For more on HBO Sports, visit itsh.bo Watch HBO Sports series and events online at HBO GO® itsh.bo With HBO GO, you can watch your favorite HBO Sports series and events on your iPad® (itsh.bo iPhone® (itsh.bo or Android™ (itsh.bo smartphone. Free with your HBO subscription through participating TV providers. Connect with HBO Sports on Facebook www.facebook.com
- published: 25 Jul 2011
- views: 116842
- author: HBOsports
Derek Jeter exclusive interview
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:55
- Updated: 09 Jan 2013
Derek Jeter sits down with Jack Curry to discuss his career with the Yankees, his 3000th hit milestone, and his future in baseball.
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter_exclusive_interview
Derek Jeter sits down with Jack Curry to discuss his career with the Yankees, his 3000th hit milestone, and his future in baseball.
- published: 11 Jul 2011
- views: 29758
- author: YESNetwork
Derek Jeter w/ Barbara Walters
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:17
- Updated: 06 Sep 2012
A clip of Derek Jeter's interview with Barbara Walters as part of her "10 Most Fascinating People of 2011″ which airs Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 9:30 pm on ABC.
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter_w_Barbara_Walters
A clip of Derek Jeter's interview with Barbara Walters as part of her "10 Most Fascinating People of 2011″ which airs Wednesday, Dec. 14 at 9:30 pm on ABC.
- published: 14 Dec 2011
- views: 43467
- author: espnfrontrow
Derek Jeter 2012 Highlights
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:48
- Updated: 10 Jan 2013
Highlights of Derek Jeter 2012
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter_2012_Highlights
WebChat with 24 Hour Fitness Signature Athlete - Derek Jeter
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 18:13
- Updated: 05 Jan 2013
24 Hour Fitness Signature Athlete - Derek Jeter , baseball star, philanthropist, and 24 Hour Fitness athlete, recorded a live webchat from the New York Yankees spring training facility in Tampa Bay, FL. Derek answers questions from his fans about his training regime, his fitness goals for 2012, and his work with the Turn 2 Foundation.
http://wn.com/WebChat_with_24_Hour_Fitness_Signature_Athlete_Derek_Jeter
24 Hour Fitness Signature Athlete - Derek Jeter , baseball star, philanthropist, and 24 Hour Fitness athlete, recorded a live webchat from the New York Yankees spring training facility in Tampa Bay, FL. Derek answers questions from his fans about his training regime, his fitness goals for 2012, and his work with the Turn 2 Foundation.
- published: 25 Feb 2012
- views: 15708
- author: 24HourFitnessInc
Derek Jeter 2012 mix
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:36
- Updated: 04 Jan 2013
Derek Jeter 2012 mix. Song 1- Another one bites the dust Song 2- Forever by Chris Brown _________________________________________ Ignore Derek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter...
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter_2012_mix
Derek Jeter 2012 mix. Song 1- Another one bites the dust Song 2- Forever by Chris Brown _________________________________________ Ignore Derek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter 2012 mixDerek Jeter...
- published: 19 Oct 2012
- views: 3616
- author: MrHighlightVideos
Derek Jeter
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:42
- Updated: 09 Jan 2013
Derek Jeter Shortstop de los Yankees de Nueva York, único jugador en la historia de los Yankees en superar los 3000 hits, una de los mejores peloteros de los últimos años.
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter
Derek Jeter Shortstop de los Yankees de Nueva York, único jugador en la historia de los Yankees en superar los 3000 hits, una de los mejores peloteros de los últimos años.
- published: 10 Aug 2011
- views: 128499
- author: MucinhoDJ2
Derek Jeter's farewell to Yankee Stadium speech
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:53
- Updated: 10 Jan 2013
Derek Jeter's farewell to Yankee Stadium speech.
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter's_farewell_to_Yankee_Stadium_speech
Derek Jeter's farewell to Yankee Stadium speech.
- published: 22 Sep 2008
- views: 452318
- author: YESNetwork
David Letterman - 2012 MLB All-Stars Top Ten
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:01
- Updated: 09 Jan 2013
Derek Jeter, Josh Hamilton and the American League stars present the "Top Ten Fun Facts About The All-Star Game."
http://wn.com/David_Letterman_2012_MLB_All-Stars_Top_Ten
Derek Jeter, Josh Hamilton and the American League stars present the "Top Ten Fun Facts About The All-Star Game."
- published: 10 Jul 2012
- views: 42314
- author: CBS
Derek Jeter Talks About Losing | Steiner Sports Memorabilia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:16
- Updated: 10 Jan 2013
Brandon Steiner of www.SteinerSports.com and New York Yankees shortstop and future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter sit down to talk about losing. There are many things to know about Derek Jeter, however the most important fact about Derek Jeter is that he hates losing; he tries to win at everything he does, and doesn't believe it's possible to "weight" certain losses versus each other. Steiner Sports Memorabilia is proud to have a strong working relationship with Derek Jeter. In addition to providing sports collectors with pro sports memorabilia and baseball memorabilia, our strong relationships with our athletes create the opportunity to give our fans interviews and experiences like this. Autograph signings with players like Derek Jeter are truly awesome experiences for both Steiner Sports Memorabilia and our athletes, in which we get to provide some awesome autographs and sport memorabilia that can be used as sports gifts for almost anybody. From Derek Jeter signed baseballs, to baseball display cases, we have everything a sports collector would want. KEYWORDS steiner sports memorabilia, autograph signings, sports collectibles, sports collectors, sports memorabilia auctions, autographed sports memorabilia, sports autographs, derek jeter, facts about derek jeter
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter_Talks_About_Losing_|_Steiner_Sports_Memorabilia
Brandon Steiner of www.SteinerSports.com and New York Yankees shortstop and future Hall of Famer Derek Jeter sit down to talk about losing. There are many things to know about Derek Jeter, however the most important fact about Derek Jeter is that he hates losing; he tries to win at everything he does, and doesn't believe it's possible to "weight" certain losses versus each other. Steiner Sports Memorabilia is proud to have a strong working relationship with Derek Jeter. In addition to providing sports collectors with pro sports memorabilia and baseball memorabilia, our strong relationships with our athletes create the opportunity to give our fans interviews and experiences like this. Autograph signings with players like Derek Jeter are truly awesome experiences for both Steiner Sports Memorabilia and our athletes, in which we get to provide some awesome autographs and sport memorabilia that can be used as sports gifts for almost anybody. From Derek Jeter signed baseballs, to baseball display cases, we have everything a sports collector would want. KEYWORDS steiner sports memorabilia, autograph signings, sports collectibles, sports collectors, sports memorabilia auctions, autographed sports memorabilia, sports autographs, derek jeter, facts about derek jeter
- published: 06 Mar 2012
- views: 39529
- author: Brandon Steiner
Hate to be Rude: Derek Jeter
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:14
- Updated: 10 Jan 2013
Golfweek.com's Jeff Rude catches up with one of Major League Baseball's greats, New York Yankee Derek Jeter where they talk about the differences between playing on a golf course and Yankee Stadium, and why pitches make better golfers than anybody else in baseball. For more information on the Derek Jeter Celebrity Golf Classic and the Turn 2 Foundation, visit: www.turn2foundation.org
http://wn.com/Hate_to_be_Rude_Derek_Jeter
Golfweek.com's Jeff Rude catches up with one of Major League Baseball's greats, New York Yankee Derek Jeter where they talk about the differences between playing on a golf course and Yankee Stadium, and why pitches make better golfers than anybody else in baseball. For more information on the Derek Jeter Celebrity Golf Classic and the Turn 2 Foundation, visit: www.turn2foundation.org
- published: 06 Feb 2012
- views: 32338
- author: GolfweekMag
K.Rose - Derek Jeter's Birthday Party Performance
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:17
- Updated: 25 Dec 2012
Crazy, was given the opportunity to perform at Derek Jeter's 38th birthday party on a tuesday, flew out on Wednesday and got to do it. Grown vibe, so I had to make it a little live! Some big people were there too; DJ Irie, P. Diddy's Mom, and of course Derek Jeter. Follow me: Instagram- @rosebotworld
http://wn.com/KRose_Derek_Jeter's_Birthday_Party_Performance
Crazy, was given the opportunity to perform at Derek Jeter's 38th birthday party on a tuesday, flew out on Wednesday and got to do it. Grown vibe, so I had to make it a little live! Some big people were there too; DJ Irie, P. Diddy's Mom, and of course Derek Jeter. Follow me: Instagram- @rosebotworld
- published: 19 Jul 2012
- views: 12081
- author: K Rose Bot
Derek Jeter 2011 Home Runs
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:51
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
A highlight video showing all of Derek Jeter's home runs from the 2011 season. (Including hit #3000)
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter_2011_Home_Runs
A highlight video showing all of Derek Jeter's home runs from the 2011 season. (Including hit #3000)
- published: 02 Jun 2012
- views: 6568
- author: ZebraMan441
Derek Jeter 2011 Highlights
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:18
- Updated: 21 Oct 2012
- I DO NOT OWN THIS CLIPS, MLB.COM CLIPS - Derek Jeter Highlights
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter_2011_Highlights
- I DO NOT OWN THIS CLIPS, MLB.COM CLIPS - Derek Jeter Highlights
- published: 05 May 2012
- views: 8369
- author: TVBenny91
Derek Jeter Tri-State Ford Bloopers
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:24
- Updated: 14 Dec 2012
www.facebook.com Derek is flawless on the baseball diamond. But when it comes to shooting commercials for the Tri-State Ford Dealers, a little practice makes perfect. Here are some takes that ended up on the cutting room floor. www.facebook.com
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter_Tri-State_Ford_Bloopers
www.facebook.com Derek is flawless on the baseball diamond. But when it comes to shooting commercials for the Tri-State Ford Dealers, a little practice makes perfect. Here are some takes that ended up on the cutting room floor. www.facebook.com
- published: 30 Jul 2012
- views: 26775
- author: TriStateFordVideos
KPIX Derek Jeter's reaction to passing George Brett on the all-time hits list (5/27/12)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:59
- Updated: 06 Nov 2012
shot by Anthony Catchatoorian
http://wn.com/KPIX_Derek_Jeter's_reaction_to_passing_George_Brett_on_the_all-time_hits_list_5_27_12
Rose Says Jeter Won't Break Career Hits Record
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:45
- Updated: 24 Oct 2012
Colin Cowherd discusses Pete Rose's comments that Derek Jeter will not break his hits record.
http://wn.com/Rose_Says_Jeter_Won't_Break_Career_Hits_Record
Colin Cowherd discusses Pete Rose's comments that Derek Jeter will not break his hits record.
- published: 10 Oct 2012
- views: 1309
- author: ESPN
Derek Jeter Documentary
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:06
- Updated: 13 Oct 2012
Video I made in one on my classes at school
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter_Documentary
Video I made in one on my classes at school
- published: 26 Feb 2012
- views: 7012
- author: xXjonathannXx
replica new york yankees derek jeter mlb jersey
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:46
- Updated: 28 Dec 2012
www.jennynfljerseys.com www.youtube.com
http://wn.com/replica_new_york_yankees_derek_jeter_mlb_jersey
Derek Jeter Breaks Ankle in Game 1 ALCS 10/13 Yankees Tigers October 13th
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:13
- Updated: 01 Dec 2012
www.houdinishouseofcards.com @cheapfunbreaks Join our break club www.baseballcardcollectors.net Join my crowd on ustream for an email when I go live: www.ustream.tv
http://wn.com/Derek_Jeter_Breaks_Ankle_in_Game_1_ALCS_10_13_Yankees_Tigers_October_13th
www.houdinishouseofcards.com @cheapfunbreaks Join our break club www.baseballcardcollectors.net Join my crowd on ustream for an email when I go live: www.ustream.tv
- published: 14 Oct 2012
- views: 25635
- author: HoudiniCollector
photo: AP / Jacques Brinon
10 Jan 2013
PARIS. Three Kurdish women, including one of the founders of a militant group battling Turkish troops since 1984, were "executed" at a Kurdish center in Paris, the interior minister said on Thursday. Turkey's Anadolu news agency identified one of the victims as Sakine Cansiz, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK ... He called it a "totally intolerable act." ... ....(size: 1.7Kb)
photo: AP / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
08 Jan 2013
MOSCOW, January 8 (RIA Novosti) – At least 17 billion Earth-size planets may inhabit the Milky Way galaxy, SPACE.com reported citing a new study by US astronomers ... That translates to a minimum of 17 billion planets as there are about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way ... Over a hundred of candidates have been confirmed as planets so far, NASA said....(size: 1.7Kb)
photo: AP / NSW Rural Fire Service, James Morris
10 Jan 2013
Tammy Holmes, second from left, holds 2-year-old Charlotte Walker, left, and Esther Walker, 4, as they find refuge in water as fires rage nearby in Tasmania last week. Joining them were, from right, Caleb Walker, 6, Matilda Walker, 11, and Liam Walker, 9. Record temperatures across southern Australia cooled Wednesday, but the reprieve from the summer's extreme heat is expected to be brief. (Provided by the Holmes family) ... ....(size: 2.9Kb)
photo: AP / Channi Anand
09 Jan 2013
JAMMU, India (Reuters) - India slammed arch-rival Pakistan on Wednesday over a fire fight in the disputed territory of Kashmir in which two of its soldiers were killed, and said the mutilation of one of the bodies was "inhuman". India's Defence Minister A.K. Antony waits to speak at a plenary session of the 11th International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) Asia Security Summit ... REUTERS/Tim Chong ... ....(size: 2.6Kb)
photo: AP / Alexandre Meneghini
10 Jan 2013
Mexican has enacted a law that will ensure that the victims and relatives of crime are compensated with payments and social services from the state. The law, enacted by President Enrique Pena Nieto on Wednesday, comprises the creation of a fund to pay relatives up to $70,000 in compensation for an innocent victim killed in attacks by drug gangs ... “There are thousands of people who have suffered the ravages of violence ... Share ... ....(size: 18.3Kb)
Major League Blogging
11 Jan 2013
Notes. What I tend to do heavily in my rankings, unlike all the other rankings, is group players together based on their position/projection/potential. For example, in round 8/bubble I grouped together 4 cl (Brad Lidge and Jon Broxton as well as Matt Capps and Heath Bell) ... Players. 1-48. Pos. Players 49-96. Pos. Hanley Ramirez. ss. Jon Papelbon ... Derek Jeter ... Derek Lee ... Derek Lee is in a solid lineup, but hit only 22 and 20 hr in the past 2 years....(size: 14.3Kb)
IMDb
10 Jan 2013
Hannah Davis, the Victoria’s Secret fashion model who is dating Yankees slugger ......(size: 0.5Kb)
Newstrack India
10 Jan 2013
Derek Jeter's new flame Hannah Davis is reportedly among the top runners to feature on this year's cover for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit magazine. The 22-year-old model, who is dating baseball player Jeter, will make her debut in this year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, the New York Post reported ......(size: 2.3Kb)
Kansas City Star
10 Jan 2013
This was six years ago, before we knew this event would soon be extinct, when Derek Jeter chartered a private jet into the snow and ice of Kansas City in January ... Jeter wore a suit that night, clean but not flashy, exactly the kind of thing you’d expect the icon to wear and you should’ve seen the reactions ... Jeter smiled politely but walked quickly through the museum lobby ... Jeter interrupts....(size: 5.6Kb)
New York Post Online
10 Jan 2013
The Yankees were a beaten and battered team after they lost to the Tigers in the ALCS. And with Alex Rodriguez out until at least July with a hip injury, Mariano Rivera still not 100 percent after his ACL injury and Derek Jeter having yet to test his surgically repaired ankle, the Bombers will be facing plenty of health questions to start the 2013 season, as well ... ARMED FORCE ... Jeter, Rivera, [Andy] Pettitte, these guys, they work ... ....(size: 2.7Kb)
New York Post Online
10 Jan 2013
Simon Cowell’s great experiment seems to be officially over ... However, sources told TMZ that Spears left the show to focus on recording her eighth album ... Previous StoryBCS babe changes phone number Next StoryDerek Jeter's gal top contender for SI swimsuit issue ... report Derek Jeter's gal top contender for SI swimsuit issue James Gandolfini apologizes to Leon Panetta Katie Holmes surprise spectator at shaken baby case Baby No....(size: 2.7Kb)
Huffington Post
10 Jan 2013
She's young, hot and ALREADY dating a pro athlete. Yep, we'd say model Hannah Davis is all but ready to hit the big time. And if she stars in 2013's Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, as Page Six claims, she could be on the fast track to Kate Upton-like star status very, very soon. (You remember, of course, that the cover of 2012's swimsuit issue was the rocket that launched Upton's now white-hot career.) ... See more Hannah below!. PHOTOS.....(size: 6.0Kb)
New York Post Online
10 Jan 2013
Charlie Sheen is continuing his streak of generosity ... Chris Guerra, 29, was killed on Jan. 1 after being struck by a car while taking pictures of the pop singer's Ferrari ... O'Neill/White/INFphoto.com. Charlie Sheen ... report ... report Derek Jeter's gal top contender for SI swimsuit issue James Gandolfini apologizes to Leon Panetta Katie Holmes surprise spectator at shaken baby case Baby No....(size: 2.2Kb)
New York Post Online
10 Jan 2013
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10 Jan 2013
Taylor Swift will never, ever get to live down her infamous Kanye West interruption at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards ... “This always happens, God” Swift quipped ... Follow @PageSix. Emily Smith Ian Mohr. Stephanie Smith ... report Derek Jeter's gal top contender for SI swimsuit issue James Gandolfini apologizes to Leon Panetta Katie Holmes surprise spectator at shaken baby case Baby No....(size: 2.1Kb)
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10 Jan 2013
After he walked away, Bieber fired him, Benabou's lawsuit claims ... Splash News. Justin Bieber ... "Mr ... " ... ‘I’m ready’ ... Olivia Munn pulls a 'Kanye' during Taylor Swift's People Choice Award win La La sticking with Carmelo 'Cat Woman' staves off eviction BCS babe changes phone number Derek Jeter's gal top contender for SI swimsuit issue James Gandolfini apologizes to Leon Panetta Katie Holmes surprise spectator at shaken baby case Baby No....(size: 2.9Kb)
| Derek Jeter | |
|---|---|
 Jeter batting for the Yankees against the Orioles in 2008. |
|
| New York Yankees – No. 2 | |
| Shortstop | |
| Born: (1974-06-26) June 26, 1974 (age 38) Pequannock Township, New Jersey |
|
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| May 29, 1995 for the New York Yankees | |
| Career statistics (through May 27, 2012) |
|
| Batting average | .313 |
| On-base percentage | .383 |
| Hits | 3,155 |
| Runs | 1,795 |
| Home runs | 245 |
| Runs batted in | 1,214 |
| Teams | |
|
|
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
Derek Sanderson Jeter ( /ˈdʒiːtər/; born June 26, 1974) is an American baseball shortstop who has played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. A five-time World Series champion, Jeter has been a central figure of the Yankees during their success of the 1990s and 2000s due to his clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning.[1] He is the Yankees' all-time career leader in hits (3,155), games played (2,472), stolen bases (342), and at bats (10,066). His accolades include twelve All-Star selections, five Gold Glove Awards, four Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, and the Roberto Clemente Award. Jeter is the all-time MLB leader in hits by a shortstop,[1][2] and the 28th player to reach 3,000 hits.
The Yankees drafted Jeter out of high school in 1992, and he debuted in the major leagues in 1995. The following year, he became the Yankees' starting shortstop, won the Rookie of the Year Award, and helped the team win the 1996 World Series. Jeter continued to contribute during the team's championship seasons of 1998–2000; he finished third in voting for the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1998, recorded multiple career-high numbers in 1999, and won both the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in 2000. He has consistently placed among the AL leaders in hits and runs scored for the past ten years, and since 2003 has served as the Yankees' team captain.[3]
Throughout his career, Jeter has contributed reliably to the Yankees' franchise successes in the postseason. He holds many postseason records, and has a .351 batting average in the World Series. Jeter has earned the titles of "Captain Clutch" and "Mr. November" due to his postseason heroics.[4][5]
Jeter has been one of the most heavily marketed athletes of his generation and is involved in several product endorsements. His personal life and relationships with celebrities have drawn the attention of the media throughout his career. Teammates and opponents alike regard Jeter as a consummate professional and one of the best players of his generation.[6][7] Sportswriters anticipate that Jeter will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame following his playing career.[8][9]
Contents |
Early life[link]
Jeter was born in Pequannock, New Jersey on June 26, 1974. His father, Sanderson Charles Jeter, Ph.D., a substance abuse counselor, is African American; his mother, Dorothy, an accountant, is Caucasian and of Irish/German descent.[10] They met while serving in the United States Army in Germany.[11] As a child, Jeter's parents made him sign a contract every year that set acceptable and unacceptable forms of behavior.[12] Dorothy instilled a positive attitude in her son, insisting that he not use the word "can't".[13] Jeter's sister Sharlee, who is five years younger, was a softball star in high school,[11] while his father played baseball at Fisk University in Tennessee at the shortstop position.[14]
The Jeters lived in North Arlington, New Jersey until Derek was four years old, at which point they moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan.[1] Derek and Sharlee lived in Kalamazoo with their parents during the school year and spent their summers with their grandparents in New Jersey. Attending New York Yankees games with his grandparents, Jeter became a passionate fan of the team.[1][14] Watching Yankees player Dave Winfield inspired him to pursue baseball.[15]
High school[link]
Jeter attended Kalamazoo Central High School, where he played baseball and basketball. In his sophomore year at Kalamazoo Central, Jeter batted .557, followed by a .508 average in his junior year.[1] In his senior year, he batted .508 and compiled 23 runs batted in (RBI), 21 walks, four home runs, a .637 on-base percentage (OBP), a .831 slugging percentage (SLG), 12 stolen bases (in 12 attempts), and just one strikeout.[1]
Jeter received several honors after his senior season. These included an All-State honorable mention, distinguishing him as one of the best high school baseball players in Michigan, the Kalamazoo Area B'nai B'rith Award for Scholar Athlete, the 1992 High School Player of the Year Award from the American Baseball Coaches Association, the 1992 Gatorade High School Player of the Year award, and USA Today's High School Player of the Year.[1][2] Kalamazoo Central High School inducted Jeter into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003[16] and renamed its baseball field in his honor in 2011.[17] Jeter's baseball talents drew the attention of the University of Michigan, which offered him a baseball scholarship to attend and play college baseball for the Michigan Wolverines baseball team.[18]
Professional career[link]
Draft[link]
As a scout for the Houston Astros, Hal Newhouser evaluated Jeter extensively prior to the 1992 MLB Draft. The Astros held the first overall pick in the draft, and Newhouser, convinced that Jeter would anchor a winning team, lobbied team management to select Jeter.[18] However, the Astros feared that Jeter would insist on a salary bonus of at least $1 million to forgo his college scholarship for a professional contract.[18] Consequently, the Astros passed on him in the draft, instead choosing Cal-State Fullerton outfielder Phil Nevin, who signed with Houston for $700,000.[18] Newhouser felt so strongly about Jeter's potential that he quit his job with Astros in protest after they ignored his drafting advice.[19]
The Yankees, who selected sixth, also rated Jeter highly.[20] Yankees scout Dick Groch, assigned to scout in the Midwest, watched Jeter participate in an all-star camp held at Western Michigan University.[21] Though Yankees officials were concerned that Jeter would attend college, Groch convinced them to select him. Regarding the possibility Jeter would attend Michigan, Groch said "the only place Derek Jeter's going is to Cooperstown", referring to the home city of the Baseball Hall of Fame.[22] The second through fifth picks were Paul Shuey, B. J. Wallace, Jeffrey Hammonds, and Chad Mottola.[23] The Yankees selected Jeter, who chose to turn professional and signed with the Yankees for $800,000.[24]
Minor leagues (1992–1995)[link]
Jeter played four seasons in minor league baseball, then known as the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (NAPBL). Jeter began the 1992 season with the Gulf Coast Yankees of the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, based in Tampa, Florida. In his first professional game, Jeter batted 0-for-7 with five strikeouts.[25] Jeter struggled, batting .202 in 47 games.[18][25] Manager Gary Denbo benched Jeter in the season's final game to ensure his average would not drop below .200, known in baseball as the Mendoza Line.[26] In addition to being frustrated with his play, Jeter was homesick, accruing $400-per-month phone bills from daily calls to his parents.[24][25]
The Yankees promoted Jeter to the Greensboro Hornets of the Class A South Atlantic League (SAL) to allow him more at-bats.[25] He batted .247 in his first 11 games with Greensboro, making nine errors in 48 chances.[25] Weighing 156 pounds (71 kg), he did not have the appearance of the Yankees' future leader.[24] Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte, who played for the Hornets that season and, with Jeter and Mariano Rivera, would form the Yankees' Core Four, at first questioned the hype surrounding Jeter, but recognized his talent and poise.[25]
"If you're going to play at all, you're out to win. Baseball, board games, playing Jeopardy, I hate to lose."
– Derek Jeter[27]
Jeter spent the next offseason focusing on improving his fielding.[18][26] Baseball America ranked Jeter as the 44th-best prospect in baseball prior to the 1993 season.[28] Returning to the Hornets in 1993, his first full season of professional baseball, he was voted the "Most Outstanding Major League Prospect" by SAL managers after hitting .295 with five home runs, 71 RBI and 18 stolen bases.[29] He was named to the All-Star team after finishing second in the league in triples (11), third in hits (152) and 11th in batting average. However, Jeter committed 56 errors, a SAL record.[26] Despite this, he was voted the SAL's Best Defensive Shortstop, Most Exciting Player, and Best Infield Arm by Baseball America.[2][30]
Coming off of his strong 1993 season, Baseball America rated Jeter as the 16th-best prospect in baseball.[28] Jeter played for the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League (FSL), the Albany-Colonie Yankees of the Class AA Eastern League, and the Columbus Clippers of the Class AAA International League during the 1994 season,[31] hitting .344 with five home runs, 68 RBI, and 50 stolen bases combined. He was honored with the Minor League Player of the Year Award by Baseball America, The Sporting News, USA Today, and Topps/NAPBL.[2][18] He was also named the most valuable player of the FSL.[2]
Considered the fourth-best prospect in baseball by Baseball America heading into the 1995 season,[28] the Yankees projected Jeter as their starting shortstop. However, he suffered mild inflammation in his right shoulder in the Arizona Fall League after the conclusion of the 1994 regular season, and as a precaution, the Yankees signed Tony Fernández to a two-year contract. With Fernández the starting shorstop, the Yankees assigned Jeter to Class AAA.[32] During MLB's 1994–95 work stoppage, the Yankees reportedly offered Jeter the opportunity to work out for the MLB team with replacement players in spring training prior to the 1995 season. Jeter declined, choosing not to cross the picket line.[32]
Major leagues (1995–present)[link]
1995–1998[link]
Due to injuries to Fernández and Pat Kelly early in the 1995 season, Jeter made his MLB debut on May 29, 1995.[33] The following day, he collected his first two major league hits and scored his first two career runs.[34] Jeter batted .234 and committed two errors in 13 games before being demoted to Class AAA Columbus.[35]
After Fernández batted a disappointing .245 and appeared in only 108 games due to injuries that season, incoming Yankees manager Joe Torre asserted that Jeter would be the starting shortstop for the 1996 season.[36][37] However, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, often skeptical of younger players, was not convinced. Clyde King, a close Steinbrenner advisor, observed Jeter for two days in spring training in 1996, and came away with the impression that Jeter was not yet ready.[38] To solidify the shortstop position after an injury to Fernández, Steinbrenner approved a trade that would have sent pitcher Mariano Rivera to the Seattle Mariners for shortstop Félix Fermín, but vice president of scouting Gene Michael and assistant general manager Brian Cashman convinced Steinbrenner to give Jeter an opportunity.[39]
Rated the sixth best prospect in baseball by Baseball America heading into the 1996 season,[28] the Yankees started Jeter at shortstop on Opening Day, the first Yankee rookie to do so since Tom Tresh in 1962.[1] He hit his first MLB home run that day. Jeter had a successful rookie season, winning Rookie of the Year honors after hitting for a .314 batting average, with 10 home runs, 104 runs scored, and 78 RBI.[40]
The Yankees made the 1996 postseason. During Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series (ALCS), with the Yankees trailing the Baltimore Orioles 4–3 in the 8th inning, Jeter hit a fly ball to right field that was ruled a home run by the umpires after twelve-year-old fan Jeffrey Maier reached over the wall to catch the ball. Right fielder Tony Tarasco claimed that he could have made the catch were it not for fan interference. Despite Tarasco's pleas with the umpires, the home run stood as called, tying the game. It marked the first home run of Jeter's postseason career. The Yankees won the game and defeated the Orioles in five games.[41] Overall, Jeter batted .361 in the 1996 postseason,[40] and the Yankees defeated the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 World Series to win their first championship since the 1978 World Series.[42]
Coming off of his Rookie of the Year campaign, Jeter headlined a group considered the "new crop" of shortstops, along with Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra, as the careers of older shortstops such as Cal Ripken, Jr., Barry Larkin, Ozzie Smith and Alan Trammell were concluding.[43] Prior to the 1997 season, Jeter and the Yankees agreed on a $540,000 contract with performance bonuses.[44] That year, Jeter batted .291, with 10 home runs, 70 RBI, 116 runs, and 190 hits.[40] Though he hit two home runs during the 1997 American League Division Series (ALDS), the Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians 4 games to 2.[45]
Jeter earned $750,000 for the 1998 season.[46] That year, Jeter was selected for his first All-Star Game. On the season, he batted .324 with a league-leading 127 runs, 19 home runs, and 84 RBI,[40] for a team that won 114 games during the regular season and is widely considered to be one of the greatest of all time.[47][48] In the playoffs, Jeter hit only .176 in the ALDS and ALCS, but batted .353 in the World Series, as the Yankees defeated the San Diego Padres in four games.[49] At season's end, Jeter finished third in voting for the AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award.[50]
1999–2002[link]
Jeter and the Yankees went to salary arbitration before the 1999 season; the arbiter awarded Jeter a $5 million salary.[51] Jeter led the AL in hits that season with 219, while finishing second in the league in batting average (.349) and runs scored (134), appearing in his second All-Star game in the process.[40] Jeter, who for part of the year hit third in the batting order, also drove in 102 runs, becoming only the second Yankee shortstop to do so, following Lyn Lary's 107 RBI in 1931.[40] His season totals in batting average, runs, hits, runs batted in, doubles (37), triples (9), home runs (24), SLG (.552), and OBP (.438) are all personal bests.[40] In the postseason, Jeter batted .455 in the ALDS, .350 in the ALCS, and .353 in the World Series,[40] as the Yankees defeated the Braves to win another championship, Jeter's third.[52]
During the 1999–2000 offseason, the Yankees negotiated with Jeter, tentatively agreeing to a seven-year, $118.5 million contract.[53] Steinbrenner did not want to set a salary record and delayed a response while Juan González and the Detroit Tigers negotiated on a reported eight-year, $143 million contract extension. When that agreement fell through, so did Jeter's tentative deal. To avoid arbitration, Jeter and the Yankees agreed to a one-year deal worth $10 million.[53][54]
Jeter batted .339, leading the team, with 15 home runs, 73 RBI, 119 runs scored, and 22 stolen bases in the 2000 regular season.[40][53] Jeter recorded three hits, including a go-ahead two-run single, in the 2000 MLB All-Star Game. The performance earned him the All-Star Game MVP Award, the first time a Yankee won the award.[55] During the postseason, he batted only .211 in the Division Series but rebounded to hit .318 in the Championship Series against the Seattle Mariners, and .409 in the World Series against the New York Mets.[40] Jeter added two home runs, a triple, and two doubles in the World Series, including a leadoff home run on the first pitch of Game 4 and a triple later in the third inning.[56] His home run in Game 5 tied the game and extended his World Series hitting streak to 14 games.[57] The Yankees defeated the Mets in five games for their third consecutive title, and Jeter's fourth championship overall.[58] Jeter won the World Series MVP Award, becoming the only player to win the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in the same season.[59]
With one year remaining until he would become eligible for free agency, Jeter signed a ten-year, $189 million contract before the 2001 season to remain with the Yankees.[53] Rodriguez signed a ten-year $252 million contract earlier in the offseason, setting the market for Jeter's negotiations. Jeter became the second-highest-paid athlete, trailing only Rodriguez. The $18.9 million average annual value of Jeter's contract was the third highest in baseball, behind Rodriguez ($25.2 million) and Manny Ramirez ($20 million).[53]
In 2001, Jeter batted .311, with 21 home runs, 74 RBI, 110 runs scored, and 27 stolen bases, making his fourth All-Star appearance.[40] Jeter made a notable defensive play in Game 3 of the 2001 American League Division Series against the Oakland Athletics. With Jeremy Giambi on first base, Oakland right fielder Terrence Long hit a double off Yankees pitcher Mike Mussina into the right-field corner. As Giambi rounded third base and headed for home plate, Yankees right fielder Shane Spencer retrieved the ball and made a wild throw that missed cut-off man Tino Martinez and dribbled down the first-base line. Jeter ran from shortstop to grab the ball and flipped it to catcher Jorge Posada, who tagged Giambi out on the leg just before he crossed home plate, preserving the Yankees' one-run lead. Facing elimination, the Yankees eventually won the game, as well as the series. The play, known as "The Flip",[1] was later voted seventh in Baseball Weekly's 10 Most Amazing Plays of all time,[60] and won the 2002 Best Play ESPY Award.[61]
"I have the greatest job in the world. Only one person can have it. You have shortstops on other teams — I'm not knocking other teams — but there's only one shortstop on the Yankees."
– Derek Jeter[62]
As a result of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the start of the playoffs was delayed and the season's end was extended past the usual October timeframe. The Yankees advanced to the 2001 World Series to face the Arizona Diamondbacks. Game 4, which began on October 31, proceeded into the tenth inning with the score tied 3–3. At midnight, the Yankee Stadium scoreboard displayed the message, "Attention Fans, Welcome to NOVEMBER BASEBALL." This was the first time that any non-exhibition MLB game had been played in the month of November.[1] Moments later, Jeter hit a game-winning home run off of Byung-Hyun Kim. The words "Mr. November" flashed on the scoreboard, in reference to former Yankee Reggie Jackson's nickname, "Mr. October".[1] Despite Jeter's highlight moments that postseason, Jeter slumped at the plate; he denied injuries were a factor, though a fall into a photographer's box trying to catch a foul ball may have aggravated an earlier hamstring injury.[63] Jeter batted .148 in the World Series, as the Yankees lost in seven games.[64]
Jeter batted .297, with 18 home runs, 75 RBI, 124 runs scored, 191 hits, and a career-best 32 stolen bases during the 2002 regular season. He led the majors in stolen base percentage (91.4%), getting caught only three times. He made his fifth All-Star appearance.[40] In the 2002 postseason, the Anaheim Angels defeated the Yankees in the ALDS on their way to winning the World Series.[65]
2003–2008[link]
On Opening Day of the 2003 season, Jeter dislocated his left shoulder when he collided with Blue Jays catcher Ken Huckaby at third base.[66] He was placed on the disabled list for six weeks and missed 36 games, having never played fewer than 148 games in the prior seven full seasons.[67] Jeter returned to bat .324, finishing third in batting average to Bill Mueller, who batted .326. Ramirez finished second.[68][69]
Steinbrenner named Jeter the 11th recognized captain in Yankees history on June 3, 2003, following eight seasons without a captain after Don Mattingly retired in 1995.[3] That postseason, Jeter batted .314 with two home runs, five RBI and 10 runs scored across 17 playoff games,[69] including three hits in Game 3 of the 2003 World Series against the Florida Marlins – the only three hits Josh Beckett allowed during the game – to lead the Yankees to a 2 games to 1 series lead.[70] However, Jeter went 0-for-4 with a crucial error in a Game 6 loss, and the Marlins won the series in six games.[69]
"Even when we were winning, I said it's not easy to win a championship. It doesn't happen year after year, so you learn to appreciate how tough it is when you lose."
– Derek Jeter[69]
The Yankees acquired Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers during the 2003–04 offseason, leading to speculation that the Yankees would move Jeter from shortstop, as Rodriguez had two Gold Glove Awards at shortstop and Jeter had none. The Yankees insisted that Jeter would remain the team's starting shortstop, with Rodriguez moving to third base.[71] The 2004 season began with Jeter mired in a slump, at one point getting only one hit in a span of 36 at-bats; through April, he batted .168. However, his batting average improved to .277 by the All-Star break in July.[72]
During a July 1, 2004 game against the rival Boston Red Sox, with the score tied at 3 in the top of the 12th inning, the Red Sox had runners on second and third with 2 outs and right fielder Trot Nixon up at bat. Nixon hit a pop fly down the left field line. Jeter ran from his position at shortstop and made an over-the-shoulder catch. He launched himself over the third-base side railing, landing three rows into the left-field seats, and lacerating his chin and bruising his face in the process. Jeter was later taken out of the game. This catch ended the inning, and later the Yankees went on to win the game in the bottom of the 13th inning.[73] For the play, Jeter was awarded Play Of The Year in the This Year In Baseball awards competition, as voted on by fans at MLB.com.[74]
Jeter made the All-Star team and finished the season with a .292 average; 23 home runs, the second-most of his career; 78 RBI; 111 runs scored; and a career-best 44 doubles, which broke a Yankee single-season record for doubles by a shortstop, besting Tony Kubek's 38 in 1961.[40][75] He batted .316 with a team-leading four RBI as the Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins in the 2004 ALDS, and were poised to face the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS.[76] However, Jeter struggled, batting .200 with one extra-base hit, as the Yankees lost the series to the Red Sox in seven games, despite winning the first three games.[77] Following the 2004 season, Jeter was presented with his first Gold Glove Award.[78]
Jeter hit his first and only grand slam, after 10 years in MLB, on June 18, 2005 against the Chicago Cubs. At one point, Jeter had the most at bats of any active player not to have hit a grand slam.[79] Jeter was second in the AL in runs scored (122) in the 2005 season,[80] and was third in the league in both at bats (654) and hits (202). Jeter won his second consecutive Gold Glove in 2005.[81] Though Jeter batted .333 during the 2005 ALDS, the Yankees lost to the Angels.[82]
Without center fielder Bernie Williams, Torre reportedly considered moving Jeter or Rodriguez to center field in 2006.[83] Instead, the Yankees signed Johnny Damon to play center field and lead off, with Jeter batting second in the lineup.[84] During the 2006 season, Jeter recorded his 2,000th career hit on May 26, becoming the eighth Yankee to reach the milestone.[85] Jeter finished the season second in the AL in both batting average (.343) and runs scored (118), third in hits (214), stolen base success percentage (87.2), and batting average with runners in scoring position (.381), fourth in OBP (.417), and fifth in infield hits (26), earning his seventh All-Star selection.[40][86][87] Jeter batted .500 with one home run in the 2006 ALDS, including a 5-for-5 performance in Game 1, making him the sixth player to record five hits in one postseason game.[88] However, the Yankees lost to the Detroit Tigers, 3 games to 1.[82]
Jeter finished second in the 2006 AL MVP Award voting to Justin Morneau of the Twins (320 points to 306 points).[89] It was his sixth top-10 finish in the MVP balloting in 11 full seasons through 2006.[40] Though he lost the MVP Award, he won the Hank Aaron Award, given for superior offensive performance.[86]
Jeter finished the 2007 season third in the AL with 203 hits, his third consecutive, and sixth overall season with at least 200 hits. He also finished fourth in both at-bats (639) and plate appearances (714), sixth in times on base (276), and ninth in batting average (.322).[90] He was selected for his eighth All-Star appearance.[40] In the field, he was involved in turning a career-high 104 double plays.[40] However, he struggled during the 2007 ALDS, batting 3-for-17 (.176) with one RBI, as the Indians defeated the Yankees.[82]
Jeter's slugging percentage (SLG) dropped to .410 in the 2008 season, his lowest mark since 1997.[40] One possible cause was a prolonged slump that he suffered after being hit by a pitch on his wrist.[91] Before the injury, Jeter was hitting .324 with a .774 on-base plus slugging (OPS). After the injury, his batting average dipped to as low as .269 by the end of the month.[40] His offense took an upward turn after May as he hit .322 with a .824 OPS after June 1.[40] Jeter was elected to his ninth All-Star game as the starting shortstop.[92]
Jeter tied Lou Gehrig's record for hits at Yankee Stadium (1,269) with a home run off Tampa Bay Rays pitcher David Price on September 14, 2008.[93] On September 16, he broke the record against Chicago White Sox pitcher Gavin Floyd.[94] Despite Jeter's strong September showing, the Yankees were eliminated from postseason contention,[95] the only full season in Jeter's career where he did not compete in the playoffs. Following the final game in Yankee Stadium history, Jeter made an impromptu on-field speech, thanking the Yankees fans for their support and asking them to pass on their memories from the venue while making new memories at the new Yankee Stadium.[96]
2009–present[link]
For the 2009 season, Yankees manager Joe Girardi switched Jeter and Damon in the batting order, with Damon moving to second and Jeter to the leadoff role, based on the rationale that Jeter had a higher OBP than Damon, but grounded into double plays more often.[97] Jeter batted .334, third best in the AL, with a .406 OBP, 18 home runs, 30 stolen bases in 35 attempts, 107 runs scored, and 212 hits (second in MLB).[40] During the season, the Sporting News named Jeter eighth on their list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball.[98]
Jeter achieved two career hit milestones in the second half of the 2009 season. On August 16, 2009, against the Seattle Mariners, Jeter doubled down the right-field line for his 2,675th hit as a shortstop, breaking Luis Aparicio's previous record for the most hits by a shortstop in major league history.[99] Then, Jeter became the all-time hits leader as a member of the Yankees (2,722), passing Lou Gehrig on September 11, 2009. The hit was a single off Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman in the third inning.[100]
In the 2009 postseason, Jeter batted .355, including .407 in the 2009 World Series,[40] as he won his fifth World Series championship. He was named Sportsman of the Year for 2009 by Sports Illustrated.[101] Jeter also finished third in the AL MVP voting, behind Minnesota's Joe Mauer and teammate Mark Teixeira.[102]
The 2010 season was statistically Jeter's worst in many respects.[103] The Yankee captain batted .270 with a .340 OBP and .370 SLG and an Adjusted OPS of 90, his first full season with an OPS+ below 100. Despite this, Jeter was elected to start at shortstop in the All-Star Game.[104] He rebounded to bat .342 in his last 79 at-bats after making adjustments to his swing.[105] Following the season, Jeter won his fifth Gold Glove award.[106] He committed six errors during the season, his lowest total in 15 full seasons.[107]
"He might go down, when it's all over, as the all-time Yankee."
After the 2010 season, Jeter became a free agent for the first time in his career. He reached an agreement with the Yankees on a three-year contract with an option for a fourth year.[108][109] Jeter spent the offseason continuing to make adjustments in his swing.[110]
Jeter began the 2011 season batting .260 with a .649 OPS.[111] He broke Rickey Henderson's franchise record for stolen bases when he stole his 327th base against the Mariners on May 28, 2011.[112] Jeter suffered a calf injury on June 13 that required his fifth career 15-day disabled list stint, and his first since 2003.[113][114] Rehabilitating from his injury in Tampa, Jeter worked on his swing with Denbo.[115][116] Following his activation from the disabled list, he hit .326 with an .806 OPS in his last 64 games of the season.[111] Jeter finished the year with a .297 batting average, 6 home runs, 61 runs batted in, 84 runs, and 16 stolen bases.[40] He credited the turnaround to his work with Denbo.[115]
Jeter recorded his 3,000th career hit, a home run in the third inning of an afternoon game against David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays on July 9, 2011. Jeter finished the day with five hits in five at bats, the second player to have five hits on the day he achieved his 3,000th hit (the first was Craig Biggio).[117] The last of Jeter's five hits proved to be the game-winning hit. He is the only member of the 3,000 hit club to record all of his hits with the New York Yankees, the only player to record his 3,000th hit as a Yankee, and one of only two players (the other being Wade Boggs) to hit a home run for his 3,000th hit.[118] Jeter became the second player to reach 3,000 career hits while still a regular shortstop (the first was Honus Wagner).[119][120][a] Only Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron and Robin Yount were younger than Jeter on the day of their 3,000th hit.[119] MLB and HBO produced Deter Jeter 3K, a documentary that profiles his path to 3,000 hits, which originally aired on July 28, 2011.[123]
Jeter finished the 2011 season with 162 hits, his 16th consecutive season with 150 hits, which tied him with Pete Rose for the second most consecutive 150 hit seasons, one behind Hank Aaron for the MLB record.[124] Jeter was honored with the Lou Gehrig Memorial Award, given in recognition of charitable endeavors.[125]
Despite concerns that Jeter's age might catch up to him in 2012, the beginning of the 2012 season saw Jeter on a hot streak: he batted .411 through April 23.[126] Rodriguez commented that Jeter is playing as he did in 1999, while Girardi said Jeter looks like he is 25 years old.[127]
World Baseball Classic[link]
Jeter started at shortstop for the United States national baseball team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. He hit 9-for-20 (.450) and scored five runs in six games. Only Ken Griffey, Jr. (.524) and Yoandy Garlobo (.480) had a higher batting average with a minimum of 20 at bats.[128] Jeter's play earned him recognition as the shortstop selection on the All-Tournament Team.[129]
In the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Jeter again started at shortstop. He was named captain of the United States team by manager Davey Johnson,[130] and he batted 8-for-29 (.276) in eight games.[131] Jeter and the United States team faced the Yankees at Steinbrenner Field in an exhibition game, the first and only time Jeter played against the Yankees.[132]
Player profile[link]
Jeter is considered to be one of the most consistent baseball players of all time. Jeter has only played fewer than 148 games a season once in his career, when he dislocated his left shoulder on Opening Day 2003. He has an average of 194 hits, 118 runs scored and 23 stolen bases per year over the course of 152 games played.[133]
"Derek Jeter has always been above the fray. As someone who’s wallowed in it, “foot-in-mouthed” it hundreds of times, said dumb things and backed up dumber ones, it’s refreshing. He’s shown up, played, and turned in a first-ballot Hall of Fame career in the hardest environment in sports to do any/all of the above."
An aggressive hitter, Jeter swings at most pitches in the strike zone, and many near it.[18] Though right-handed hitters often pull the ball into left field, Jeter's signature inside-out swing, also called the "Jeterian Swing",[135] results in a large portion of hits to center and right field, a trend that has remained consistent throughout his career. He has more home runs to the opposite field than to center or to left, using his swing to take advantage of the short right-field fences at both the old and new Yankee Stadiums.[136] His swing enables him to get hits even when he is slumping.[18]
Jeter is also known for his professionalism. In an age where professional athletes often find themselves in personal scandals, Jeter has avoided major controversy in a high profile career in New York City while maintaining a strong work ethic.[6][9][12][137] Due to his style of play, opponents and teammates hold Jeter in high esteem.[6][134] Always respectful, he referred to Torre as "Mr. Torre".[46] A clubhouse leader, Jeter diffuses confrontations between teammates.[6]
Postseason performance[link]
Jeter is noted for his postseason performances, and has earned the titles of "Captain Clutch", and "Mr. November" due to his postseason heroics.[4][5][138][139] He has a career .309 postseason batting average, and a .351 batting average in the World Series. Except for 2008, the Yankees have been to the postseason every year since Jeter joined the team. Jeter holds MLB postseason records for games played (152), plate appearances (679), at-bats (559), hits (191), doubles (31), runs scored (107), total bases (290) and strikeouts (125). Jeter is also third in triples (4), third in home runs (20), fourth in runs batted in (59), fifth in base on balls (64) and sixth stolen bases (18).[40]
Defense[link]
Jeter has won five Gold Glove Awards. Despite this, Jeter's defense has been the subject of criticism from a number of sabermetricians, including Rob Neyer and the publication Baseball Prospectus.[140][141][142] The book The Fielding Bible by John Dewan contains an essay by Bill James in which he concludes that Jeter "was probably the most ineffective defensive player in the major leagues, at any position."[143] A 2008 study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that, from 2002 through 2005, Jeter was the worst defensive shortstop in MLB.[144] Two sites that rely on advanced defensive statistics, FanGraphs.com and FieldingBible.com, rated Jeter below middle-of-the-pack status in 2010, despite his receiving his fifth Gold Glove Award that season.[145][146]
Jeter committed 18 errors in 2007, his highest total since finishing with 24 in 2000.[147] After the season, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman and his staff saw Jeter's defense as an area that needed to be addressed.[148] At the Yankees' request, Jeter embarked on a rigorous training program to combat the effects of age, by focusing on lateral movement and first-step quickness.[149] Jeter's ultimate zone rating (UZR) improved from worst in the AL for shortstops in 2007 to close to league average in 2008.[148]
When asked to responded to criticism of his defense, Jeter replied: "I play in New York, man. Criticism is part of the game, you take criticism as a challenge."[147] Jeter further asserted that many defensive factors cannot be quantified.[107] The controversy over Jeter's fielding has become a flash point for the debate over whether the analyses of statistics or subjective observation is the better method to assess a player's defensive ability, and for criticism of the Gold Glove Award.[150]
Career highlights[link]
Awards[link]
| Award / Honor | Time(s) | Date(s) |
|---|---|---|
| AL All-Star[2] | 12 | 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 |
| New York Yankees Player of the Year[151] | 5 | 1998, 1999, 2000, 2006, 2009 |
| AL Gold Glove Award (SS)[2] | 5 | 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010 |
| AL Silver Slugger Award (SS)[2][151] | 4 | 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 |
| GIBBY Awards Moment Of The Year[152] | 2 | 2008, 2009 |
| Hank Aaron Award[152] | 2 | 2006, 2009 |
| Lou Gehrig Memorial Award[152] | 2 | 2010, 2011 |
| GIBBY Awards Performance Of The Year[152] | 1 | 2011 |
| Sporting News All-Decade Team (shortstop)[153][154] | 1 | 2009 |
| Sports Illustrated MLB All-Decade Team (shortstop)[155] | 1 | 2009 |
| Roberto Clemente Award[152] | 1 | 2009 |
| Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year[156] | 1 | 2009 |
| ESPY Awards Best MLB Player[157] | 1 | 2007 |
| Inductee in Kalamazoo Central High School Athletic Hall of Fame[16] | 1 | 2007 |
| Baseball Digest Player of the Year[2] | 1 | 2006 |
| GIBBY Awards Hitter of the Year Award[2] | 1 | 2006 |
| Baseball America 1st-Team Major League All-Star (SS)[2] | 1 | 2006 |
| GIBBY Awards Play Of The Year[152] | 1 | 2004 |
| Players Choice Award Rookie Of The Year[152] | 1 | 2004 |
| The Sporting News "Good Guy in Sports" Award[152] | 1 | 2002 |
| ESPY Awards Best Play ESPY Award[152] | 1 | 2002 |
| Babe Ruth Award[152] | 1 | 2000 |
| All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award[2] | 1 | 2000 |
| World Series Most Valuable Player Award[2] | 1 | 2000 |
| Joan Payson Award for Community Service[158] | 1 | 1997 |
| AL Rookie of the Year[2][151] | 1 | 1996 |
| International League All-Star[152] | 1 | 1995 |
| Florida State League All-Star[152] | 1 | 1994 |
| Florida State League Most Valuable Player[152] | 1 | 1994 |
| Baseball America Minor League Player of the Year[152] | 1 | 1994 |
| The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year[152] | 1 | 1994 |
| Topps/NAPBL Minor League Player of the Year[152] | 1 | 1994 |
| New York Yankees Minor League Player of the Year[152] | 1 | 1994 |
| South Atlantic League All-Star[152] | 1 | 1993 |
| South Atlantic League's Best Defensive Shortstop, Most Exciting Player, Best Infield Arm[152] | 1 | 1993 |
| American Baseball Coaches Association High School Player of the Year[152] | 1 | 1992 |
| USA Today High School Player of the Year[152] | 1 | 1992 |
| Gatorade High School Athlete of the Year[152] | 1 | 1992 |
Statistical highlights[link]
|
Milestones[link]
- Jeter recorded his 2,000th career hit with an infield single on May 26, 2006, off Kansas City Royals pitcher Scott Elarton, becoming the eighth Yankee to reach the milestone.[85]
- Jeter hit his 400th career double on June 27, 2008.[159]
- Jeter hit his 200th home run on July 12, 2008.[160]
- Jeter tied Lou Gehrig's record for hits at Yankee Stadium on September 14, 2008.[93] He passed Gehrig on September 16, 2008.[94]
- Jeter played in his 2,084th game on August 2, 2009, tying Babe Ruth for 4th in Yankees history.[161]
- Jeter recorded his 2,673rd and 2,674th hits on August 16, 2009, tying and passing Luis Aparicio for most hits by a shortstop in Major League history.[99]
- Jeter became the Yankees' all-time hits leader on September 11, 2009, surpassing Gehrig with his 2,722nd hit, a single to right field off of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Chris Tillman in the third inning.[100]
- Jeter, along with Posada and Rivera, became the first teammates in any of the four major league sports in North America (MLB, NFL, NBA, or NHL) to play in at least 16 seasons on the same team as teammates in 2010.[162]
- Jeter compiled his 3,000th hit (including the postseason) with a solo home run in the first inning against the Houston Astros on June 12, 2010. The hit also tied him with Rickey Henderson as the all-time Yankees leader in leadoff home runs.[163]
- Jeter stole his 327th base on May 28, 2011, breaking Henderson's franchise record for stolen bases.[112]
- Jeter became the 28th member of the 3,000 hit club when he homered off David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays on July 9, 2011. He is the first player in Yankees history to achieve the feat.[164]
- Jeter and Posada played their 1,660th game together on July 14, 2011, breaking the previous franchise record of 1,659 by Gehrig and Tony Lazzeri.[165]
- Jeter played his 2,402nd game with the Yankees on August 29, 2011, breaking Mickey Mantle's record for most games played as a Yankee.[166]
Personal life[link]
Jeter maintains a penthouse apartment in Manhattan's Trump World Tower and homes in Marlboro, New Jersey, Greenwood Lake, New York,[167] and the Davis Islands neighborhood of Tampa, Florida.[168] Regarding his official residence, Jeter settled a tax dispute with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance in 2008.[169] New York State alleged that Jeter should have paid state income tax from 2001 to 2003, as Jeter bought a Manhattan apartment in 2001; Jeter established his residence in Tampa, Florida, in 1994 and claimed that he was still a resident of Florida at the time. Florida has no state income tax.[170][171]
Jeter's personal life has been a frequent topic in gossip columns and celebrity magazines since his rookie year in 1996. He had a well-publicized relationship with pop diva Mariah Carey from 1997 to 1998.[1][172] Jeter has also dated former Miss Universe Lara Dutta,[1][173] singer Joy Enriquez,[174] actress Jordana Brewster,[1][175] television personality Vanessa Minillo,[172] actress Jessica Biel,[176][177] and actress Minka Kelly.[178][179][180]
In December 2002, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner criticized Jeter for staying out until 3 a.m. at a birthday party during the 2002 season, saying that his star shortstop "wasn't totally focused" and that "it didn't sit well" with him.[18] The two mocked the incident in a May 2003 VISA commercial,[65] similar to the manner in which Steinbrenner and former Yankees manager Billy Martin made light of their feud in a Miller Lite commercial during the 1970s.[181]
Jeter is a close personal friend of Yankees catcher Jorge Posada and served as best man at Posada's wedding.[182] He has also renewed his close friendship with teammate Alex Rodriguez after a rift between them developed several years ago.[183]
Appearances outside of baseball[link]
Philanthropy[link]
Jeter created the Turn 2 Foundation, a charitable organization, in 1996. The Foundation was established to help children and teenagers avoid drug and alcohol addiction, and to reward those who show high academic achievement. The organization's name derives from the baseball double play (where "turning two" refers to making two outs on one play) and indicates the goal of the Foundation to give youths a place to "turn to" instead of drugs and alcohol.[184] Jeter received an honorary doctorate from Siena College honoring him for his foundation's work.[185]
During the 2009 season, Jeter and Mets star David Wright represented their foundations in a competition sponsored by Delta Air Lines; the player with the highest batting average received $100,000 for their foundation from Delta, while the runner-up's foundation received $50,000.[186] Wright's group, the David Wright Foundation, focuses on multiple sclerosis.[187]
Jeter also serves as an ambassador for Weplay, a website designed to encourage children to get involved in sports.[188]
Endorsements[link]
Jeter has appeared in national ad campaigns for Nike, Gatorade, Fleet Bank, Discover Card, Florsheim, Gillette Fusion, VISA, Skippy, Ford, and XM Satellite Radio.[189][190][191] He endorses a cologne named Driven, designed in collaboration with and distributed by Avon.[192] Jeter has his own Jumpman shoe.[193]
In 2006, Jeter was the second-highest paid endorser in baseball, having earned $7 million in endorsements.[194] He was ranked as the most marketable player in baseball according to the 2005[195] and 2010 Sports Business Surveys.[196] A 2011 list by the marketing firm Nielsen ranked Jeter as the most marketable player in baseball, accounting for personal attributes such as sincerity, approachability, experience, and influence.[197]
Other appearances[link]
Jeter has appeared on television in Seinfeld and as a host on Saturday Night Live.[198] He had cameo appearances in the comedy films Anger Management and The Other Guys.[199] His likeness was seen briefly on The Simpsons during the eighth episode of season 19, titled "Funeral for a Fiend", in which he was parodied as a guest star on Sesame Street. Jeter was the subject of a 2005 segment on the TV news magazine 60 Minutes.[12]
Video games have featured Jeter on their cover, including 2K Sports' MLB 2K5, MLB 2K6, and MLB 2K7,[200][201] Acclaim Entertainment's All-Star Baseball series of video games,[202] and Gameloft's wireless phone baseball game, Derek Jeter Pro Baseball 2008.[203] There is a wax figure of Jeter at the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in New York,[204] and a sculpture at the Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory in Louisville, Kentucky.[205]
See also[link]
.jpg){kind=small}
- List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1,000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1,000 runs batted in
- List of Major League Baseball players with 300 stolen bases
- List of Major League Baseball players with 4,000 total bases
- List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
- List of Major League Baseball hit records
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
Notes[link]
- ^ Though Honus Wagner was primarily a shortstop, he also played other infield positions as well as the outfield. Cal Ripken reached 3,000 after he had moved to third base. Robin Yount reached the milestone after moving to center field, where he spent almost half his career.[120][121] Some consider Jeter the third regular shortstop to reach 3,000 along with Wagner and Ripken.[121][122]
References[link]
- Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Acocella, Nick (September 9, 2006). "Jeter Drives the Yankees". ESPN Classic.com (ESPN). http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/classic/bio/news/story?page=Jeter_Derek. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Derek Jeter—Biography". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://www.mlb.com/players/jeter_derek/about/bio.jsp. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ a b Kepner, Tyler (June 4, 2003). "Baseball: Steinbrenner appoints Jeter captain of the Yankees". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/04/sports/baseball-steinbrenner-appoints-jeter-captain-of-the-yankees.html. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
- ^ a b Verducci, Tom (October 4, 2006). "Jeter displays his postseason form". SI.com (Sports Illustrated). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/tom_verducci/10/04/yankee.doodle.dandy/. Retrieved May 22, 2011.
- ^ a b "Derek Jeter Stats, Bio, Photos, Highlights". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/individual_player_postseason.jsp?playerID=116539. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
- ^ a b c d Kurkjian, Tim (June 2, 2005). "There's Jeter ... and then everyone else". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=kurkjian_tim&id=2073780. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
- ^ Schlegel, John; Bollinger, Rhett (September 12, 2009). "Jeter's feat recognized around MLB: Players, coaches respect what shortstop has done for game". MLB.com (MLB Advanced Media). http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090909&content_id=6882850&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
- ^ Borden, Sam (July 22, 2011). "If any player can get 100 percent of Hall of Fame vote, it's Jeter". SI.com (Sports Illustrated). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sam_borden/07/22/derek.jeter.hall.of.fame/. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- ^ a b Mnookin, Seth. "Derek Jeter's Swinging Years". GQ (April 2011). http://www.gq.com/sports/profiles/201104/derek-jeter-seth-mnookin. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- ^ Fine, Larry (July 11, 2011). "Derek Jeter rises to join Yankee greats". The China Post. Reuters (The China Post Group). http://www.chinapost.com.tw/sports/baseball/2011/07/11/309405/Derek-Jeter.htm. Retrieved July 11, 2011.
- ^ a b O'Connor, Ian (October 26, 1999). "For Yanks' Jeter, life is beautiful". Westchester Journal News.
- ^ a b c Bradley, Ed (September 25, 2005). "Derek Jeter: The Captain". CBS News. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/22/60minutes/main880059.shtml. Retrieved September 25, 2005.
- ^ Howard, Johnette (July 8, 2011). "Don't forget what got Derek Jeter here". ESPN New York (ESPN). http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/columns/story?columnist=howard_johnette&id=6742913. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
- ^ a b Jeter, Derek (February 9, 2004). "Kalamazoo Kid". Sports Illustrated 100 (6). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1141479/index.htm. Retrieved July 7, 2009.
- ^ Mink, Ryan (June 29, 2006). "Turn 2 Foundation celebrates 10th anniversary". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. http://www.mlb.com/players/jeter_derek/news/article.jsp?story=06302006_news. Retrieved September 11, 2008.
- ^ a b Mack, Julie (December 5, 2007). "Kalamazoo Central names Jeter to its hall of fame". Kalamazoo Gazette (Michigan Live LLC). http://blog.mlive.com/kzgazette/2007/12/kalamazoo_central_names_jeter.html. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
- ^ Mack, Julie (November 11, 2011). "Kalamazoo Central names baseball field after Derek Jeter". Kalamazoo Gazette (Michigan Live LLC). http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2011/11/kalamazoo_central_names_baseba.html. Retrieved November 11, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Olney, Buster (August 23, 2004). "Jeter: Dynasty's child". ESPN.com (ESPN). http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=olney_buster&id=1863947. Retrieved July 13, 2009.
- ^ Olney, Buster (October 17, 2001). "Baseball – What Can We Do Next? Just Watch Jeter Play". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/17/sports/baseball-what-can-we-do-next-just-watch-jeter-play.html. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
- ^ Borden, Sam (July 8, 2011). "Rays 5, Yankees 1: Jeter Moves a Hit Closer as the Yanks Fall Again". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/08/sports/baseball/one-hit-for-derek-jeter-and-little-else-for-the-yankees.html. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
- ^ Baker, Barbara (July 7, 2011). "Zimmer salutes Jeter as all-time great". Newsday. http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/zimmer-salutes-jeter-as-all-time-great-1.3011680. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- ^ Lemire, Joe (July 7, 2011). "Jeter not defined by number 3,000". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/joe_lemire/07/07/derek.jeter/index.html#ixzz1SxfZCzux. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ Kepner, Tyler (June 5, 2010). "Five Players Who Outranked Jeter, if Only Briefly". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/sports/baseball/06jeter.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- ^ a b c Curry, Jack (September 12, 2009). "Teammates Recall Jeter's Journey From Minor Leagues to Great Yankee". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/12/sports/baseball/12jeterteammates.html. Retrieved July 23, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Curry, Jack (September 12, 2009). "Even in Class A, Posada and Pettitte Sensed What Was to Come With Jeter". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/sports/baseball/13jeter.html?_r=1. Retrieved May 11, 2012.
- ^ a b c Hill, Benjamin (May 16, 2011). "'Captain' Jeter developed in Minors: Gangly, homesick kid turned into a legend in O'Connor's book". MLB.com (MLB Advanced Media). http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110504&content_id=18638298&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
- ^ Geffner, Michael P. (November 22, 2006). "Jeter don't care 'bout stinkin' metal". recordonline.com (Times Herald-Record). http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061122/SPORTS/611220350. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
- ^ a b c d "All-Time Top 100 Prospects". Baseball America. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/top-100-prospects/all-time.html. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
- ^ "Jeter Fits in Yankees' Near Future". Record-Journal: p. D2. August 28, 1994. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=V91HAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vP8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=3679,4921919&dq=derek-jeter+albany&hl=en. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
- ^ Acocella, Nick (June 21, 2004). "Jeter always in position to win". ESPN Classic (ESPN). http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/jeterderekadd.html. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
- ^ Edes, Gordon (August 28, 1994). "Yanks Think Jeter Close to Majors". Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/orlandosentinel/access/77941605.html?dids=77941605:77941605&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+28%2C+1994&author=Gordon+Edes%2C+Fort+Lauderdale+Sun-Sentinel&pub=Orlando+Sentinel&desc=YANKS+THINK+JETER+CLOSE+TO+MAJORS&pqatl=google. Retrieved April 9, 2012. (Subscription required)
- ^ a b Curry, Jack (February 28, 1995). "Baseball; Top Prospect's Bottom Line Is No Replacement Games". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/02/28/sports/baseball-top-prospect-s-bottom-line-is-no-replacement-games.html. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ Bradley, Jeff (May 29, 1995). "With Tony Down, Jeter's Looking Up". New York Daily News. http://articles.nydailynews.com/1995-05-29/sports/17970131_1_yankee-spasms-pat-kelly. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
- ^ Friend, Tom (May 31, 1995). "Baseball; Bullpen Lets Down Perez And Yanks". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/31/sports/baseball-bullpen-lets-down-perez-and-yanks.html. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- ^ Curry, Jack (June 12, 1995). "Baseball: An Ailing Leyritz And Yanks Recover". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/06/12/sports/baseball-an-ailing-leyritz-and-yanks-recover.html. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ Curry, Jack (December 13, 1995). "Baseball: Torre Is Sure Of Only One Thing: Jeter Is His Shortstop". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/13/sports/baseball-torre-is-sure-of-only-one-thing-jeter-is-his-shortstop.html. Retrieved October 16, 2009.
- ^ O'Connell, Jack (March 19, 1996). Hartford Courant: p. C.2. Fernandez Fields Move to Second Well: Injury to Kelly Creates Another Chance. Retrieved December 5, 2011. (Subscription required)
- ^ a b Madden, Bill (September 14, 2009). "Derek Jeter a hit with Don Zimmer going back to the very start of Yankee career". New York Daily News. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2009-09-14/sports/17931482_1_yankee-bench-coach-yankee-stadium-crowds-hits-record. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- ^ Antonen, Mel (October 7, 2009). "For Yanks quartet, winning a fifth title would add to a legacy". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/yankees/2009-10-06-yankees-quartet_N.htm. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x "Derek Jeter Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/j/jeterde01.shtml. Retrieved September 11, 2008.
- ^ Lapointe, Joe (April 14, 2006). "Boy Who Helped Yankees Is a Hit Again". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/14/sports/baseball/14maier.html. Retrieved September 11, 2008.
- ^ "1996 World Series". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1996_WS.shtml. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ Verducci, Tom (February 24, 1997). "Long On Shortstops: The Yankees' Derek Jeter is part of a rich crop of young players who are redefining the position". SI.com (Sports Illustrated). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1009523/index.htm. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
- ^ Diamos, Jason (March 11, 1997). "Yankees And Jeter Reach Agreement". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/11/sports/yankees-and-jeter-reach-agreement.html. Retrieved October 25, 2011.
- ^ "1997 American League Championship Series". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1997_ALCS.shtml. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ a b Anderson, Dave (May 31, 1998). "Sports of The Times; Jeter Is Still The Torres' 'Little Boy' Shortstop". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/31/sports/sports-of-the-times-jeter-is-still-the-torres-little-boy-shortstop.html. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
- ^ Ryan, Bob (October 23, 1998). "Yankees best ever: They didn't have stars, just perfect team approach". The Boston Globe: p. E.1. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/35310008.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+23%2C+1998&author=Bob+Ryan%2C+Globe+Staff&pub=Boston+Globe&desc=Yankees+best+ever+They+didn't+have+stars%2C+just+perfect+team+approach&pqatl=google. Retrieved November 25, 2011. (Subscription required)
- ^ "The best ever? Yankees give fans plenty to debate over the winter". SI.com (Sports Illustrated). December 1, 1998. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/mlb/1998/postseason/news/1998/10/22/world_series/. Retrieved April 24, 2012.
- ^ "1998 World Series". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1998_WS.shtml. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ "1998 Awards Voting". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1998.shtml#ALmvp. Retrieved December 9, 2011.
- ^ Keegan, Tom (February 17, 1999). "Jeter $5M, Yankees 0: Lock Up Derek Long Term Now". New York Post: p. 60. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/nypost/access/68475517.html?dids=68475517:68475517&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Feb+17%2C+1999&author=Tom+Keegan&pub=New+York+Post&desc=JETER+%245M%2C+YANKEES+0+%3A+LOCK+UP+DEREK+LONG+TERM+NOW&pqatl=google. Retrieved April 18, 2012. (Subscription required)
- ^ "1999 World Series". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. http://www.baseball-reference.com/postseason/1999_WS.shtml. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
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- ^ "AL Gold Glove winners named". ESPN.com. Associated Press. November 11, 2010. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5784846. Retrieved November 10, 2010. "Two websites that study glovework – Fangraphs.com with its Ultimate Zone Rating and Fieldingbible.com – listed Chicago's Alexei Ramirez as the top-fielding AL shortstop with Jeter nowhere close to even middle-of-the-pack status."
- ^ Gleeman, Aaron (November 9, 2010). "Derek Jeter now has more Gold Glove awards than all but four shortstops in baseball history". NBCSports.com (NBC Sports). Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5u9QH1oLg. Retrieved November 10, 2010. "And that’s fine, but the notion that Jeter, at age 36, was the best defensive shortstop in the American League this season is simply absurd, whether you love defensive statistics, hate defensive statistics, or merely prefer the Ultimate Warrior to Ultimate Zone Rating."
- ^ a b Frias, Carlos (March 30, 2008). "Criticism of his defense isn't about to make Jeter change plans". Palm Beach Post. Archived from the original on November 16, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5uI7VcSyT. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
- ^ a b Hoch, Bryan (July 28, 2009). "Jeter making long strides at shortstop". MLB.com (MLB Advanced Media). Archived from the original on November 16, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5uI75F4kn. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
- ^ Rosenthal, Ken (August 25, 2009). "How will Cubs, Mets GMs Turn Things Around?". Fox Sports (News Corporation). Archived from the original on November 16, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5uI5SGasJ. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
- ^ DiMeo, Nate (July 14, 2008). "Derek Jeter vs. Objective Reality". Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2008/07/derek_jeter_vs_objective_reality.html. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Derek Jeter Awards". The Baseball Cube. http://thebaseballcube.com/Awards/J/Derek-Jeter.shtml. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "Derek Jeter: Biography and Career Highlights". MLB.com. MLB Advanced Media. http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=116539. Retrieved August 9, 2009.
- ^ Gonzalez, Alden (September 24, 2009). "Pujols is TSN's Player of the Decade: Slugger topped a .300 average in each of his nine seasons". MLB.com (MLB Advanced Media). http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090924&content_id=7131546&vkey=news_stl&fext=.jsp&c_id=stl. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
- ^ Stone, Larry (September 24, 2009). "Ichiro on Sporting News All-Decade team. Who is the Player of the Decade?". The Seattle Times (The Seattle Times Company). http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/thehotstoneleague/2009936003_ichiro_on_sporting_news_all-de.html. Retrieved September 26, 2009.
- ^ Posnanski, Joe (December 9, 2009). "2000s: The Decade in Sports; All-Decade Team: MLB". Sports Illustrated. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/magazine/specials/2000s/12/03/mlb.all.decade.team/index.html. Retrieved September 20, 2010.
- ^ "SI names Derek Jeter 2009 Sportsman of the Year". SI.com (Sports Illustrated). November 30, 2009. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/magazine/specials/sportsman/2009/11/25/derek.jeter/index.html. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
- ^ "The Winners From The ESPY Awards". St. Petersburg Times: p. 2C. July 17, 2007. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-e1RAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jXQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6296,622441. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
- ^ O'Connell, Jack (March 29, 1998). "Jeter Knows Key To The City: Yankees Shortstop Is Careful Not To Get Caught Up In It". Hartford Courant: p. E.1. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/28247193.html?dids=28247193:28247193&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Mar+29%2C+1998&author=JACK+O'CONNELL%3B+Courant+Staff+Writer&pub=Hartford+Courant&desc=JETER+KNOWS+KEY+TO+THE+CITY+YANKEES+SHORTSTOP+IS+CAREFUL+NOT+TO+GET+CAUGHT+UP+IN+IT&pqatl=google. Retrieved November 19, 2011. (Subscription required)
- ^ Hoch, Bryan (June 27, 2008). "Giese, Yanks drop Game 1 of twin bill". MLB.com (Major League Baseball). http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080627&content_id=3012989&vkey=recap&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy. Retrieved September 11, 2008.
- ^ Bergeron, Tom (July 12, 2008). "Yankees' Jeter hits 200th home run". The Star-Ledger. http://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2008/07/yankees_jeter_hits_200th_home.html. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
- ^ Abraham, Peter (August 2, 2009). "Game 105: Yankees at White Sox". LoHud Yankees Blog (The Journal News). http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2009/08/02/game-105-yankees-at-white-sox/. Retrieved August 2, 2009.
- ^ "Scutaro's miscue leads to key run in Yankees' win over Red Sox". ESPN. Associated Press. April 6, 2010. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=300406102. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
- ^ Brennan, Sean; Ackert, Kristie (June 13, 2010). "Joe Girardi encouraged by Alex Rodriguez's progress, Derek Jeter's leadoff HR ties Rickey Henderson". New York Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/joe-girardi-encouraged-alex-rodriguez-progress-derek-jeter-leadoff-hr-ties-rickey-henderson-article-1.184896. Retrieved July 4, 2010.
- ^ Mazzeo, Mike (July 9, 2011). "Derek Jeter gets 3,000th hit". ESPNNewYork.com (ESPN). http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/news/story?id=6746024. Retrieved July 9, 2011.
- ^ Gonzalez, Alden (July 14, 2011). "Jeter, Posada set appearance record". MLB.com (Major League Baseball). http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110714&content_id=21785778¬ebook_id=21803042&vkey=notebook_nyy&c_id=nyy. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- ^ Hoch, Bryan (August 29, 2011). "Jeter adds games played to his Yanks records". MLB.com (MLB Advanced Media). http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110828&content_id=23856358¬ebook_id=23857254&vkey=notebook_nyy&c_id=nyy. Retrieved August 29, 2011.
- ^ Israel, Steve (October 7, 2007). "Fun facts about our region". Times Herald-Record. http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071007/NEWS/710070343/-1/NEWS. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
- ^ Mullins, Richard (July 15, 2009). "Derek Jeter's mansion will easily be Tampa's biggest home". The Tampa Tribune. http://www2.tbo.com/sports/breaking-news-sports/2009/jul/15/derek-jeters-mansion-will-easily-be-tampas-biggest-ar-96638/. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
- ^ "Report: Jeter settles tax dispute with New York state". ESPN.com. Associated Press (ESPN). February 5, 2008. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3231419. Retrieved February 5, 2008.
- ^ Zambito, Thomas; Connor, Tracy (November 16, 2007). "Taxman: Derek Jeter cheated New York out of millions". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/taxman-derek-jeter-cheated-york-millions-article-1.259813. Retrieved May 15, 2012.
- ^ "New York Tax Officials: Yankees Star Derek Jeter Is No Floridian". Fox News (News Corporation). November 16, 2007. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,311830,00.html. Retrieved July 11, 2009.
- ^ a b McIntyre, Jason (February 14, 2005). "Derek Jeter: All-Star ladies' man". ESPN.com. ESPN. http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/page3/story?page=mcintyre/jeter. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
- ^ Verducci, Tom (November 6, 2000). "The Toast Of The Town". Sports Illustrated 93 (19). http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1020985/2/index.htm. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
- ^ Gillies, Bob; Gittrich, Greg; Garin, Kristoffer (August 19, 2001). "Jeter Sweeter A-Rod says OK as ex-date is seen with Yankee star". New York Daily News. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2001-08-19/news/18365298_1_all-star-game-yankee-star-lovely. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
- ^ "Sports Beat". Sports Illustrated 97 (3). July 15, 2002. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1026234/index.htm. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
- ^ Reardanz, Karen (November 16, 2006). "Biel Dating Jeter?". San Francisco Chronicle. http://blog.sfgate.com/dailydish/2006/11/16/biel-dating-jeter/. Retrieved November 16, 2006.
- ^ "The Women of Derek Jeter". ESPN.com. November 18, 2006. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=jeter/women&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab5pos1. Retrieved October 4, 2009.
- ^ "Derek Jeter talks Minka Kelly (sort of)". SI.com (Sports Illustrated). October 28, 2008. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/web/COM1147484/4/index.htm. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
- ^ Ackert, Kristie (July 10, 2011). "Derek Jeter's father, Dr. Charles Jeter, girlfriend and actress Minka Kelly support Jeter from suite". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/derek-jeter-father-dr-charles-jeter-girlfriend-actress-minka-kelly-support-jeter-suite-article-1.156638. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
- ^ Saad, Nardine (August 26, 2011). "Minka Kelly and Derek Jeter have 'amicable' breakup". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2011/08/derek-jeter-minka-kelly-breakup-split-yankees-charlies-angels.html. Retrieved August 26, 2011.
- ^ "Visa ends Steinbrenner-Jeter feud". CNNMoney (CNN). May 6, 2003. http://money.cnn.com/2003/05/05/news/companies/visa_steinbrenner_jeter/. Retrieved July 23, 2009.
- ^ "Derek Jeter and Jorge Posada". CNN. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/0910/derek.jeter.off.the.field/content.12.html. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
- ^ Kernan, Kevin (March 9, 2010). "A-Rod close again with old pal Jeter". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/yankees/alex_close_again_with_old_pal_jeter_vj12wYQVv9ZfEONm6EjFJJ. Retrieved February 28, 2011.
- ^ "Turn 2 Foundation Mission Statement". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://derekjeter.mlb.com/players/jeter_derek/turn2/index.jsp. Retrieved September 11, 2008.
- ^ "Derek Jeter receives honorary doctorate". WHTC. May 14, 2012. http://whtc.com/news/articles/2012/may/14/call-him-dr-jeter/. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
- ^ "Jeter and Wright Compete for Charity". SI.com. Associated Press (Sports Illustrated). April 3, 2009. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/04/03/jeter.wright.ap/index.html. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
- ^ "The David Wright Foundation". David Wright Foundation. http://mlb.mlb.com/players/david_wright/foundation/index.jsp. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
- ^ Gonzalez, Alden (March 31, 2009). "Jeter an ambassador for youth sports: Yankees captain's 'Weplay' site spurs kids to athletic lifestyle". MLB.com (MLB Advanced Media). http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090331&content_id=4094260&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb. Retrieved September 25, 2009.
- ^ Rhoden, William C. (April 10, 1999). "Sports of The Times; Jordan Adds A Shortstop To His Team". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/10/sports/sports-of-the-times-jordan-adds-a-shortstop-to-his-team.html. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ Sanders Ware, Holly (November 6, 2009). "Ad-Rod on deck: 2nd chance for Yankee bad boy". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/ad_rod_on_deck_RHb0t8bMffIBhL5B4rR04N. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ Brown, Maury (June 30, 2008). "Derek Jeter Joins "Gillette Champions" Ad Campaign". The Biz of Baseball. http://www.bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2317&Itemid=42. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ "Jeter cologne not for those who think Yankees stink". ESPN.com. Associated Press (ESPN). August 1, 2006. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2536111. Retrieved August 1, 2006.
- ^ Red, Christian (July 8, 2004). "Jeter Joins Jet Set Of Shoe Biz". New York Daily News. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2004-07-08/sports/18276716_1_air-jordans-niketown-leap. Retrieved July 18, 2011.
- ^ "Derek Jeter, The Top 100 Celebrities". Forbes. 2007. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/53/9O99.html. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
- ^ Feinsand, Mark (April 6, 2005). "Sports Business Daily-Most Marketable players in MLB". MLB.com (Major League Baseball). http://mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050406&content_id=1001571&vkey=news_nyy&fext=.jsp&c_id=nyy. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
- ^ Helfrich, Bryan; Swanson, Erik (July 20, 2010). "Derek Jeter Again Tops The Daily's Most Marketable In MLB Survey". Sports Business Daily (Street and Smith’s Sports Group). http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2010/07/Issue-211/Sponsorships-Advertising-Marketing/Derek-Jeter-Again-Tops-The-Dailys-Most-Marketable-In-MLB-Survey.aspx. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
- ^ "Pinstripe Power: Jeter, Rivera Top List of 10 Most Marketable Players in Baseball". Nielsen Company. March 24, 2011. http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/pinstripe-power-jeter-rivera-top-10-most-marketable-players-in-baseball/. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
- ^ Hoch, Bryan (November 13, 2009). "'Aging' Jeter playing himself in upcoming flick: Yankees' captain gets role in film starring Ferrell, Wahlberg". MLB.com (MLB Advanced Media). http://mlb.mlb.com/news/print.jsp?ymd=20091113&content_id=7662674. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
- ^ Calder, Rich; Alpert, Lukas I. (November 13, 2009). "Jeter plays a Bronx bummer for movie". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/jeter_plays_bronx_bummer_for_movie_3qdPn6QooUGivifiCf7MFN#ixzz0Wm0wNcUC. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
- ^ "2K Sports Announces Major League Baseball 2K6 – The Exclusive 2006 Multi-Platform Baseball Title; New York Yankee All-Star Derek Jeter to Again Grace Cover". Business Wire. December 6, 2005. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20051206005388/en/2K-Sports-Announces-Major-League-Baseball-2K6. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
- ^ "Derek Jeter is 2K7 Cover Athlete". Game Industry News. January 12, 2007. http://www.gameindustry.com/ih/item.asp?id=1138. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
- ^ "Acclaim's All-Star Baseball 2004 Ships". GameZone. February 28, 2003. http://www.gamezone.com/news/acclaim_s_all_star_baseball_2004_ships. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
- ^ "Gameloft Continues Winning Streak With Release of Derek Jeter Pro Baseball 2008". Sys-Con. March 6, 2008. http://www.sys-con.com/node/513772. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
- ^ "Derek Jeter's wax figure at Madame Tussauds description page". Merlin Entertainments. http://www.madametussauds.com/NewYork/OurFigures/SportsStars/DerekJeter/Default.aspx. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
- ^ Hoch, Bryan (October 12, 2011). "Jeter honored at Louisville Slugger Museum". MLB.com (MLB Advanced Media). http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20111012&content_id=25622972&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- Bibliography
- "Derek Jeter's official web site". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://derekjeter.mlb.com/players/jeter_derek/index.jsp. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
- "Derek Jeter Record Tracker". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/jeter/index.jsp. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
External links[link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Derek Jeter |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Derek Jeter |
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Derek Jeter at the Internet Movie Database
- "HBO: Derek Jeter 3K". HBO. http://www.hbo.com/sports/derek-jeter-3k/index.html. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
- "Derek Jeter: March to 3,000 Hits". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/jeter3000/index.jsp. Retrieved October 17, 2011.
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Jeter, Derek |
| Alternative names | Jeter, Derek Sanderson; Jeter, Derek S. |
| Short description | American professional baseball player, shortstop |
| Date of birth | June 26, 1974 |
| Place of birth | Pequannock Township, New Jersey, United States |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Jeter
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Skip Bayless | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | John Edward Bayless II (1951-12-04) December 4, 1951 (age 60) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Education | Vanderbilt University |
| Occupation | Television Sports Commentator (ESPN) commentator, sportswriter, sportswriter |
| Notable credit(s) | ESPN First Take (see Cold Pizza) 1st and 10 |
| Website | |
| http://www.espnmediazone.com/bios/Talent/SkipBayless-Bio.htm Skip Bayless on ESPN | |
Skip Bayless (born John Bayless II on December 4, 1951) is a sports journalist and television personality. Bayless regularly appears on ESPN2's ESPN First Take and its afternoon show 1st and 10. Bayless previously wrote regular columns for ESPN.com and its "Page 2" section. He is perhaps best known for his strong opinions and sometimes controversial stances on professional athletes.
Contents |
Schooling and family[link]
Bayless was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The first child of John and Levita Bayless, he was named John Edward Bayless II on his birth certificate, but his father immediately began calling him Skip or Skipper. The name stuck, and Skip Bayless was never called John by his parents. He eventually had his name legally changed to Skip. His brother is the chef, restaurateur and TV personality Rick Bayless.
Bayless as a junior, along with Jerry Waugh, Jim Hill, and Tony Robinson led Junior Varsity (JV)'s Northwest Classen High School basketball team. [1]
Bayless averaged 1.4 points per game as a senior playing basketball at Northwest Classen High School. [2]
Bayless graduated from Northwest Classen High School and Vanderbilt University where he majored in English and History and was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma.
Bayless is a member of the inaugural class of the Vanderbilt Student Media Hall of Fame.[3]
Writing career[link]
Bayless went directly from Vanderbilt to The Miami Herald, where he wrote sports features for two years before being hired away by the Los Angeles Times. There, he was best known for investigative stories on the Dodgers' clubhouse resentment of "golden boy" Steve Garvey and his celebrity wife Cyndy and on Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom's behind-the-scenes decisions to start different quarterbacks each week (James Harris, Pat Haden or Ron Jaworski). Bayless also won the Eclipse Award for his coverage of Seattle Slew's Triple Crown.
At 25, Bayless was hired by The Dallas Morning News to write its lead sports column, and two years later, the rival Dallas Times Herald hired him away by making him one of the country's highest paid sports columnists—prompting The Wall Street Journal to do a story on the development. Bayless was voted Texas sportswriter of the year three times.
In 1989, Bayless wrote God's Coach, about the rise and fall of Tom Landry's Dallas Cowboys. Following the Cowboys' Super Bowl victory in 1993, Bayless wrote The Boys, which broke the story that coach Jimmy Johnson and owner Jerry Jones were not "best friends" and correctly predicted that Jones would fire Johnson no matter how much success the team had. (Jones fired Johnson after the Cowboys won another Super Bowl the following year.)[clarification needed]
Following a third Cowboys Super Bowl win in four seasons, Bayless wrote the third and final book of his Cowboys trilogy, Hell-Bent: The Crazy Truth About the "Win or Else" Dallas Cowboys. After covering the Cowboys through the 1996 season, Bayless chose to leave Dallas after 17 years and become the lead sports columnist for the Chicago Tribune. In his first year in Chicago, Bayless won the Lisagor Award for excellence in sports column writing and was voted Illinois sportswriter of the year.
Bayless eventually had a highly publicized dispute with the Tribune's executive editor, Ann Marie Lipinski, over limiting all Tribune columns to just 650 or so words. Bayless quit over the policy and was immediately hired by Knight Ridder Corporation to write for its flagship newspaper, the San Jose Mercury News.[4] While in San Jose, Bayless became a fixture on ESPN's Rome is Burning and in a weekly Sunday Morning SportsCenter debate with Stephen A. Smith, "Old School/Nu Skool." ESPN hired Bayless full-time in 2004 to team with Woody Paige on ESPN2's Cold Pizza and to write columns for ESPN.com. In 2007, Bayless stopped writing columns to concentrate on what is now called ESPN First Take (formerly Cold Pizza) and on ESPN's afternoon show, First and 10.
Radio and television[link]
Skip Bayless has occasionally substituted as host for syndicated radio program The Jim Rome Show. He has also previously contributed to ESPN as a recurring panelist on The Sports Reporters, NFL Prime Monday (now ESPN Monday Night Countdown) in the 1990s, and Jim Rome is Burning. For three years (1998–2001), Bayless was a contributor at major championships for the Golf Channel.
KTCK Sports Radio 1310 "The Ticket"[link]
In 1994 Bayless left his show at KLIF in Dallas to help start the city's first sports talk radio station, KTCK Sports Radio 1310, "The Ticket." For two years Bayless was the primary host on the 6–9 a.m. morning show as "the Ticket" became one of the country's most successful sports stations. Bayless also was an original investor and when the ownership decided to accept a lucrative offer to sell the station, the new owners bought out Bayless' contract. He immediately became a regular on ESPN Radio's first national show, The Fabulous Sports Babe, and later co-hosted a weekend show on ESPN Radio with Larry Beil. He was also a regular on Chet Coppock's show on Sporting News Radio.
[edit] Cold Pizza/ESPN First Take
Bayless is featured in debate segments on what is now known as ESPN First Take (formerly Cold Pizza), and the segments are re-aired as First and 10 in the afternoons. Bayless debates the day's 10 hottest sports topics with a rotation of sportswriters and ex-athletes including Stephen A. Smith, Rob Parker, Jon Ritchie, Lomas Brown, Hugh Douglas, Kordell Stewart, Greg Anthony, Jalen Rose, Marcellus Wiley, Shaun King, and 2 Live Stews (Ryan and Doug Stewart). Terrell Suggs, Donovan McNabb, Chad Ochocinco, Donnie Wahlberg, and rappers Lil Wayne, Bow Wow, Wale have also taken on Bayless. Recently, Bayless has been tagged with the nickname "Skip Tebow" by many of his guests based on his unrelenting support of New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow. Bayless openly embraces the nickname.
Bayless is a regular twitter user, and he tweets on the topics and points he made on the ESPN First Take show. He also posts the Podcast from the show regularly from his twitter account.
Bayless has a "I Heart @RealSkipBayless" shirt. This shirt is given to the fans of the show, or if someone who comes to the show and loses a bet to Bayless. The person who loses the bet has to appear on the show and wear the shirt. So far, the shirt is undefeated.
Bayless lists his top five NBA players as of June 15, 2011: Dwyane Wade, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony.[5]
Cultural references[link]
Bayless, along with Woody Paige and Jay Crawford, appeared in a cameo role in the film Rocky Balboa. The three are seen on their First and 10 segment discussing a possible fight between a retired Balboa and current heavyweight champion Mason Dixon. Bayless opines that Balboa "was completely overrated" and mocks his age.
He appears in the ESPN 30 for 30 film Pony Excess, the story about the Southern Methodist University football scandal, covering the Mustangs while writing for both Dallas Morning News and the Dallas Times Herald.
Bibliography[link]
- God's Coach: The Hymns, Hype, and Hipocrisy of Tom Landry's Cowboys, Simon and Schuster, 1990. ISBN 0-671-70581-4.
- The Boys: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys' Season on the Edge, Simon and Schuster, 1993. ISBN 0-671-79359-4.
- Hell-Bent: The Crazy Truth About the "Win or Else" Dallas Cowboys, HarperCollins Publishers, 1996. ISBN 0-06-018648-8.
See also[link]
- Rick Bayless – celebrity chef and brother of Skip Bayless
References[link]
- ^ http://www.thelostogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/skip-bayless-jv-article.jpg
- ^ http://www.thelostogle.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/skip-bayless-varsity-high-school-basketball-stats.jpg
- ^ Student Media Hall of Fame's inaugural class named | myVU | Vanderbilt University: myVU. Vanderbilt.edu (2009-08-18). Retrieved on 2011-11-08.
- ^ http://thestartingfive.net/2009/02/24/the-skip-bayless-interview-part-i-colorful-conscious-and-of-course-controversial/
- ^ "Skip Bayless' Twitter". http://twitter.com/#!/RealSkipBayless/status/80756407581941760. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
External links[link]
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Bayless, Skip |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | sportswriter |
| Date of birth | December 4, 1951 |
| Place of birth | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Skip_Bayless
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skip_Bayless
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Barbara Walters | |
|---|---|
 Barbara Walters in New York City, June 2011 |
|
| Born | Barbara Jill Walters (1929-09-25) September 25, 1929 (age 82) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1961–present |
| Notable credit(s) | Co-anchor and contributor of ABC Evening News and ABC World News Today show anchor (1961–1976) Not For Women Only host (1971–1976) ABC Evening News anchor (1976–1978) 20/20 host (1984–2004) The View creator/co-host (1997–present) |
| Salary | $12 million (2007)[1] |
| Spouse | Robert Henry Katz (m.1955–1958; annulled) Lee Guber (m.1963–1976; divorced) Merv Adelson (m.1981–1984; divorced) Merv Adelson (m.1986–1992; divorced) |
| Children | 1 |
Barbara Jill Walters[2] (born September 25, 1929) is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows (Today and The View), the television news magazine (20/20), former co-anchor of the ABC World News, and current contributor to ABC News.
Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news anchor for over 10 years on NBC's Today, where she worked with Hugh Downs and later hosts Frank McGee and Jim Hartz. Walters later spent 25 years as co-host of ABC's news magazine 20/20. She was the first female co-anchor of network evening news, working with Harry Reasoner on the ABC Evening News, and continuing as a contributor to the network news division and its flagship program, ABC World News.
In 1996, Walters was ranked #34 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.[3]
Contents |
Early life[link]
Walters was born in 1929 in Boston, the daughter of Dena (née Seletsky) and Louis "Lou" Walters (born Louis Warmwater).[4] Her parents were both Jewish[5] and descendants of refugees from the former Russian Empire, now Eastern Europe.[6] Walters' paternal grandfather, Abraham Isaac, was from what is now Łódź, Poland, and first immigrated to England, changing his name first to Warmwater and later to Abraham Walters (the original family surname was Waremwasser).[6][7][8] Walters' father was born there c. 1894, and moved to the United States with his family in 1900.[9] In 1937, her father opened the New York version of the Latin Quarter; he also worked as a Broadway producer (he produced the Ziegfeld Follies of 1943).[10][11] He also was the Entertainment Director for the Tropicana Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, where he imported the "Folies Bergere" stage show from Paris to the resort's main showroom.[12] Walters' brother, Burton, died in 1932 of pneumonia.[13] Walters' elder sister, Jacqueline, was born mentally disabled[14] and died of ovarian cancer in 1985. She has another half sister, Walda Walters Anderson, born to a different mother.[citation needed]
According to Walters, being surrounded by celebrities when she was young kept her from being "in awe" of them.[14] When she was a young woman, Walters' father lost his nightclubs and the family's penthouse on Central Park West. As Walters recalled, "He had a breakdown. He went down to live in our house in Florida, and then the Government took the house, and they took the car, and they took the furniture." Of her mother, she said, "My mother should have married the way her friends did, to a man who was a doctor or who was in the dress business."[15]
After attending Ethical Culture Fieldston School and Birch Wathen Lenox School[16][17] private schools in New York City,[13] Walters graduated from Miami Beach High School in 1947. In 1951 she received a B.A. in English from Sarah Lawrence College.[18]
Career and accolades[link]
After a brief period as a publicist with Tex McCrary Inc. and a job as a writer at CBS News, Walters joined NBC's The Today Show as a writer and researcher in 1961.[14] She moved up to become that show's regular "Today Girl", handling lighter assignments and the weather. In her autobiography, she describes this era before the Women's Movement as a time when it was believed that nobody would take a woman seriously reporting "hard news". Previous "Today Girls" (whom Walters called "tea pourers") included Florence Henderson, Helen O'Connell, Estelle Parsons and Lee Meriwether.[19] Within a year she had become a reporter-at-large developing, writing, and editing her own reports and interviews.[14] When Frank McGee was named host, he refused to do joint interviews with Walters unless he was given the first four questions. She was not named co-host of the show until McGee's death in 1974, when NBC officially designated Walters as the program's first female co-host.
Walters has seldom minced words when describing the visible, on-the-air disdain her co-anchor, Harry Reasoner, displayed for her when she was teamed up with him on the ABC Evening News in 1976–78. Reasoner had a difficult relationship with Walters because he disliked having a co-anchor, even though he worked with former CBS colleague Howard K. Smith nightly on ABC for several years. In 1981, five years after the start of their short-lived ABC partnership and well after Reasoner returned to CBS News, Walters and her former co-anchor had a memorable (and cordial) 20/20 interview on the occasion of Reasoner's new book release.[citation needed]
Walters is also known for her years on the ABC newsmagazine 20/20 where she joined host Hugh Downs in 1979.[14] Throughout her career at ABC, Walters has appeared on ABC news specials as a commentator, including presidential inaugurations and the coverage of 9/11. She was also chosen to be the moderator for the third and final debate between candidates Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford, held on the campus of the College of William and Mary at Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall in Williamsburg, Virginia, during the 1976 Presidential Election.[20] In 1984, she moderated a Presidential debate held at the Dana Center for the Humanities at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire.[21] Many of her regular and special programs are syndicated around the world. As of 2004, she is in semi-retirement as a broadcast journalist, but remains a correspondent for ABC News as well as a host of ABC's special programs.
Awards[link]
On June 14, 2007, Walters received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She has won Daytime and Prime Time Emmy Awards, a Women in Film Lucy Award, and a GLAAD Excellence in Media award. Her impact on the popular culture is illustrated by Gilda Radner's "Baba Wawa" impersonation of her on Saturday Night Live,[14] featuring her idiosyncratic speech with its rounded "R". In 2008, she was honored with the Disney Legends award, an award given to those who made an outstanding contribution to The Walt Disney Company, which owns the network ABC. That same year, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York Women's Agenda. On September 21, 2009, Walters was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 30th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards at New York City's Lincoln Center.
Interviews[link]
On March 7, 2010, Barbara Walters announced she would no longer hold Oscar interviews, but will still be working with ABC and on her show, The View.[22]
In a November 2010 episode of The View, while interviewing Larry King on his retirement from CNN, Walters alluded to her impending retirement, stating, "I know when my time's coming."
Walters is known for "personality journalism" and her "scoop" interviews.[14] In November 1977, she achieved a joint interview with Egypt's President, Anwar Al Sadat, and Israel's Prime Minister, Menachem Begin. Her interviews with world leaders from all walks of life are a chronicle of the latter part of the 20th century.[14] They include the Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and his wife the Empress Farah Pahlavi; Russia's Boris Yeltsin; China's Jiang Zemin; the UK's Margaret Thatcher; Cuba's Fidel Castro, as well as India's Indira Gandhi, Václav Havel, Muammar al-Gaddafi, King Hussein of Jordan, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Bashar al-Assad president of Syria among many others. Other interviews with influential people include pop icon Michael Jackson, Katharine Hepburn, Anna Wintour, and in 1980 Laurence Olivier. Walters considered Dr. Robert Smithdas, a deaf-blind man who spent his life improving the life of other individuals who are deaf-blind, as her most inspirational interview.
Walters was widely lampooned in 1981 (and often since) for having posed the question, during an interview with actress Katharine Hepburn: "If you were a tree, what kind would you be?" But as she has often pointed out (and the video clips confirm) Hepburn initiated the discussion by saying that she would like to be a tree, and Walters merely followed up with the question, "What kind of a tree?"[14][23]
During a story about Cuban leader Fidel Castro, Walters claimed that "for Castro, freedom begins with education." Some critics[who?] point to her characterization of Castro as freedom-loving and argue that it painted an inaccurate picture of his government.[citation needed]
On March 3, 1999, her interview of Monica Lewinsky was seen by a record 74 million viewers, the highest rating ever for a journalist's interview. Walters asked Lewinsky, "What will you tell your children about this matter?" and Lewinsky replied, "I guess Mommy made some mistakes," at which point Walters brought the program to a dramatic conclusion, turning to the viewers, saying, "And that is the understatement of the year."
[edit] The View
Main article: The View (U.S. TV series)
Walters is a part-time host of the daytime talk show The View, of which she is also co-creator and co-executive producer with her business partner Bill Geddie.[14] Walters described the show in its original opening credits as a forum for women of "different generations, backgrounds, and views." She added, "Be careful what you wish for..." The show's current co-hosts are Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd. Previous co-hosts include Meredith Vieira, Lisa Ling, Rosie O'Donnell, Star Jones, and Debbie Matenopoulos.
In 2007 Barbara defended co-host O'Donnell about remarks the latter made against Donald Trump and the winner of the Miss USA pageant. Trump firmly responded by saying, "Barbara is off the list..."[24]
Personal life[link]
Walters has been married four times to three different men. "I'm convinced that you stay married when the sex is bad, only because you really want to be," she told The New York Times in 1996. "But I always had an out. I had this job, and this life and enough money. I didn't have to fight the bad days."[15] Her husbands were:
- Robert Henry Katz, a business executive and former Navy lieutenant. They married on June 20, 1955, at The Plaza Hotel in New York City. The marriage was reportedly annulled in 1958.[2][25]
- Lee Guber, theatrical producer and theater owner. They married on December 8, 1963, and divorced in 1976. They have one daughter, Jacqueline Dena Guber (born 1968, adopted the same year).
- Merv Adelson, the CEO of Lorimar Television. They married in 1981 and divorced in 1984 and were married again on May 10, 1986, and divorced in 1992.
She dated gay lawyer[26][27] Roy Cohn in college, and the lawyer said that he proposed marriage to Walters the night before her wedding to Lee Guber, but Walters denied this.[13] She explained her lifelong devotion to Cohn as gratitude for his help in her adoption of her daughter, Jacqueline.[28] In her autobiography, Walters says that Cohn got her father's warrant for "failure to appear" dismissed.[29]
Walters dated future U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan in the 1970s,[30] and was linked romantically to United States Senator John Warner in the 1990s.[31]
In Walters's autobiography, Audition, she claimed that she had an affair in the 1970s with Edward Brooke, then a married United States Senator from Massachusetts. It is not clear whether Walters also was married at the time. Walters said that the affair ended to protect their careers from scandal.[32]
She announced on the May 10, 2010 episode of The View, that she would be undergoing open heart surgery to replace a faulty aortic valve. Walters added that she knew for quite a while that she was suffering from aortic valve stenosis, even though she was symptom-free. The procedure to fix the faulty heart valve "went well, and the doctors are very pleased with the outcome," Walters' spokeswoman, Cindi Berger, said in a statement on May 14, 2010.[33]
On July 9, 2010, it was announced that Walters would return to The View and her Sirius XM satellite show Here's Barbara in September 2010.[34][35]
Walters has been close friends with Fox News head Roger Ailes since the late 1960s.[36]
Books[link]
In the late 1960s, Walters wrote a magazine article, How to Talk to Practically Anyone About Practically Anything, which drew upon the kinds of things people said to her, which were often mistakes.[37] Shortly after the article appeared, she received a letter from Doubleday expressing interest in expanding it into a book. Walters felt that it would help "tongue-tied, socially awkward people — the many people who worry that they can't think of the right thing to say to start a conversation."[37] She published the book in 1970, with the assistance of ghostwriter June Callwood.[38] To Walters' great surprise, the book was a phenomenon. As of 2008, it had gone through eight printings, sold hundreds of thousands of copies worldwide, and had been translated into at least 6 different languages.[37]
In 2008, she published her autobiography, Audition: A Memoir.
Awards and nominations[link]
- 1975 Award for Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host (Today)
- 1998 Nomination for Best Talk Show (The View)
- 1998 Nomination for Best Talk Show Host (The View)
- 1999 Nomination for Best Talk Show (The View)
- 1999 Nomination for Best Talk Show Host (The View)
- 2000 Nomination for Best Talk Show (The View)
- 2000 Nomination for Best Talk Show Host (The View)
- 2001 Nomination for Best Talk Show (The View)
- 2001 Nomination for Best Talk Show Host (The View)
- 2002 Nomination for Best Talk Show (The View)
- 2002 Nomination for Best Talk Show Host (The View)
- 2003 Award for Best Talk Show (The View)
- 2003 Nomination for Best Talk Show Host (The View)
- 2004 Nomination for Best Talk Show (The View)
- 2004 Nomination for Best Talk Show Host (The View)
- 2005 Nomination for Best Talk Show (The View)
- 2005 Nomination for Best Talk Show Host (The View)
- 2006 Nomination for Best Talk Show (The View)
- 2006 Nomination for Best Talk Show Host (The View)
- 2007 Nomination for Best Talk Show (The View)
- 2007 Nomination for Best Talk Show Host (The View)
- 2008 Nomination for Best Talk Show (The View)
- 2008 Nomination for Best Talk Show Host (The View)
- 2009 Award for Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host (The View) (with Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd)
- 2010 Nomination for Best Talk Show Host (The View)
- 2009 Award for Best Talk Series (The View)
- 2010 Nomination for Best Talk Series
Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Award
- 1998 Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.[39]
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ "Barbara Walters". Forbes.com. 2007. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2007/53/07celebrities_Barbara-Walters_O4HQ.html. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
- ^ a b "Miss Walters engaged". The New York Times: p. 96. 1955-05-01.
- ^ "Special Collectors' Issue: 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time". TV Guide (December 14–20). 1996.
- ^ Stated on Finding Your Roots, PBS, April 1, 2012
- ^ Quinn, Sally (2006-12-22). "Television Personality Looks Anew At Religion". Washington Post/Newsweek. http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2006/12/television_personality_looks_a.html. Retrieved 2006-12-22.
- ^ a b Walters, Barbara (2008). Audition: A Memoir. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 7–13. ISBN 978-0-307-26646-0.
- ^ http://www.npr.org/2012/03/23/149222907/helping-celebrities-find-their-roots
- ^ http://sfluxe.com/2012/03/21/owen-tv-celebrities-trace-their-genealogy-on-finding-your-roots/
- ^ Ancestry of Barbara Walters. Genealogy.com (2002-03-22). Retrieved on 2011-10-27.
- ^ "Lou Walters, Nightclub Impresario and Founder of Latin Quarter, Dies". The New York Times. 1977-08-16. p. 36.
- ^ Lou Walters at Internet Broadway Database
- ^ Tropicana – Las Vegas Strip. A2zlasvegas.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-27.
- ^ a b c James Conaway, "How to talk with Barbara Walters about practically anything," The New York Times, 10 September 1972, page SM40, 43–44
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Stated in interview at Inside the Actors Studio
- ^ a b Elisabeth Bumiller, "So Famous, Such Clout, She Could Interview Herself", The New York Times, April 21, 1996, page H1
- ^ Can Barbara Walters's Career Survive Rosie and Donald's War?- New York Magazine. Nymag.com (2007-03-05). Retrieved on 2011-10-27.
- ^ Dowd, Maureen (1990-03-25). "And Now Back To You, Barbara". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2D71531F936A15750C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
- ^ "WALTERS, BARBARA: U.S. Broadcast Journalist". museum.tv. http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/W/htmlW/waltersbarb/waltersbarb.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- ^ Audition, pp. 107–114
- ^ CNN: 1976 Presidential Debates. Retrieved on June 14, 2008.
- ^ [1]
- ^ Allen, Nick (2010-03-07). "Barbara Walters to host last Oscars special amid 'overexposure' of stars". Telegraph (London: Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/oscars/7393741/Barbara-Walters-to-host-last-Oscars-special-amid-overexposure-of-stars.html. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
- ^ Kate the Great, The Katharine Hepburn Forum – The Barbara Walters Interview Retrieved 2008-05-10[unreliable source?]
- ^ "Trump Says Barbara's Off "The List"". CBS News. 2007-03-27.
- ^ "Katz—Walters", The New York Times, June 21, 1955, page 36
- ^ Miller, Neil (2005). Out of the Past: Gay and Lesbian History from 1869 to the Present. Advocate Books. pp. Ch. 18. ISBN 1-55583-870-7. http://www2.english.uiuc.edu/finnegan/English%20256/Miller.htm.
- ^ Wolfe, Tom (April 3, 1988). "Dangerous Obsessions". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE6D9163BF930A35757C0A96E948260&sec=&pagewanted=print.
- ^ Jerry Oppenheimer (1990), Barbara Walters: An Unauthorized Biography, St. Martin's Press
- ^ Wiegand, David (2008-05-05). "Barbara Walters gets personal. This time, she's candid about her own life.". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/05/05/DDTU10H1P9.DTL.
- ^ Terry Keenan (2007-09-23). "LISTEN TO SHILLER, NOT THE TV SHILLS". The New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/seven/09232007/business/listen_to_shiller__not_the_tv_.htm. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
- ^ "Barbara Walters". NNDb. 2007. http://www.nndb.com/people/440/000023371. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
- ^ "Barbara Walters: I had affair with U.S. senator", Associated Press, May 1, 2008
- ^ Associated Press (14 May 2010). "Barbara Walters' heart valve surgery 'went well'". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2010/05/14/barbara_walters_heart_valve_surgery_went_well/. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
- ^ "Making Moves: Thursday, July 8, 2010". Radio-Info.com. July 8, 2010. http://www.radio-info.com/news/making-moves-thursday-july-8-2010.
- ^ "Barbara Walters Returns to Media Hosting Her Weekly SIRIUS XM Radio Show on July 12". Yahoo! Finance. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Barbara-Walters-Returns-to-prnews-1477182584.html?x=0&.v=1.
- ^ Fehrman, Craig (2011-01-21) When Roger Ailes was honest about what he does, Salon.com
- ^ a b c Audition: A Memoir, pp. 186–9
- ^ June Callwood interview by Patrick Watson, September 21, 1979 Retrieved 18 October 2009.
- ^ Past Recipients. Wif.org. Retrieved on 2011-10-27.
External links[link]
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Textbooks from Wikibooks |
- Barbara Walters at the Internet Movie Database
- ABC News' "Time Tunnel" page containing clips of numerous newscasts on which Walters appeared
- Excerpts from 2008 autobiography, Audition: A Memoir
- Barbara Walters Archive of American Television Interview
| Media offices | ||
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| Preceded by Maureen O'Sullivan |
Today Girl 1964 |
Succeeded by Position abolished Female co-host precedent set by Barbara Walters |
| Preceded by John Chancellor |
Today Show Host June 13, 1966 – June 4, 1976 Hugh Downs and herself 1966–1971 Frank McGee and herself 1971–1974 Jim Hartz and herself 1974–1976 |
Succeeded by Tom Brokaw and Jane Pauley |
| Preceded by Harry Reasoner |
ABC Evening News Anchor Co-anchor with Harry Reasoner 1976–1978 |
Succeeded by Frank Reynolds, Max Robinson, and Peter Jennings |
| Preceded by Hugh Downs As sole host |
20/20 Host 1979–2004 Hugh Downs and herself 1979–1999 Solo 1999–2002 John Miller and herself 1/2002–1/2003 John Stossel and herself 2002–2004 |
Succeeded by Elizabeth Vargas and John Stossel |
| Preceded by None |
The View co-host 1997–present |
Incumbent |
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| Persondata | |
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| Name | Walters, Barbara Jill |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Journalist, television news anchor and talk show host |
| Date of birth | 1929-09-25 |
| Place of birth | Brookline, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Barbara_Walters
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Walters
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| David Letterman | |
|---|---|
 Letterman performing on his show in June 2011. |
|
| Pseudonym | Earl Hofert |
| Born | (1947-04-12) April 12, 1947 (age 65) Indianapolis, Indiana, United States[1] |
| Medium | Stand-up, talk show |
| Nationality | American |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Genres | Observational comedy, surreal humor, deadpan |
| Subject(s) | Self-deprecation, everyday life |
| Influences | Steve Allen,[citation needed] Johnny Carson,[2] Jack Paar,[citation needed] Paul Dixon[3] |
| Influenced | Jimmy Kimmel, Jim Gaffigan, Jon Stewart, Conan O'Brien, Jimmy Fallon |
| Spouse | Michelle Cook (1969–1977) Regina Lasko (2009–present) |
| Domestic partner(s) | Regina Lasko (1986–2009) |
| Notable works and roles | Host of The David Letterman Show (NBC) Host of Late Night with David Letterman (NBC) Host of Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | CBS.com/latenight/lateshow |
| Emmy Awards | |
| Outstanding Host or Hostess in a Variety Series 1981 The David Letterman Show Outstanding Individual Achievement — Writers 1981 The David Letterman Show Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program 1984 Late Night with David Letterman 1985 Late Night with David Letterman 1986 Late Night with David Letterman 1987 Late Night with David Letterman Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Series 1994 Late Show with David Letterman |
|
| American Comedy Awards | |
| Funniest Male Performer in a TV Special (Leading or Supporting) Network, Cable or Syndication 1989 Late Night with David Letterman 1995 Late Show with David Letterman: Video Special Funniest Male Performer in a TV Series (Leading Role) Network, Cable or Syndication 1994 Late Show with David Letterman 2001 Late Show with David Letterman |
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David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host and comedian.[1] He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC. Letterman recently surpassed friend and mentor Johnny Carson for having the longest late-night hosting career in the United States of America.[4]
Letterman is also a television and film producer. His company Worldwide Pants produces his show as well as its network follow-up The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Worldwide Pants has also produced several prime-time comedies, the most successful of which was Everybody Loves Raymond, currently in syndication.
In 1996, David Letterman was ranked #45 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.[5]
Contents |
Early life and career[link]
Letterman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. His father, Harry Joseph Letterman (April 1915 – February 1973),[6] was a florist of British descent; his mother Dorothy Letterman (née Hofert, now Dorothy Mengering), a Presbyterian church secretary of German descent, is an occasional figure on the show, usually at holidays and birthdays.
Letterman lived on the north side of Indianapolis (Broad Ripple area), not far from Speedway, IN, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and he enjoyed collecting model cars, including racers.[7] In 2000, he told an interviewer for Esquire that, while growing up, he admired his father's ability to tell jokes and be the life of the party. Harry Joseph Letterman survived a heart attack at age 36, when David was a young boy. The fear of losing his father was constantly with Letterman as he grew up.[8] The elder Letterman died of a second heart attack[9] at age 57.
Letterman attended his hometown's Broad Ripple High School at the same time as Marilyn Tucker (future wife of Dan Quayle) and worked as a stock boy at the local Atlas supermarket.[10] According to the Ball State Daily News, he originally had wanted to attend Indiana University, but his grades weren't good enough, so he decided to attend Ball State University, in Muncie, Indiana.[11] He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, and he graduated from what was then the Department of Radio and Television, in 1969. A self-described average student, Letterman endowed a scholarship for what he called "C students" at Ball State.[12]
Though he registered for the draft and passed his physical after graduating from college, he was not drafted for service in Vietnam due to receiving a draft lottery number of 352 (out of 365).[13]
Letterman began his broadcasting career as an announcer and newscaster at the college's student-run radio station—WBST—a 10-watt campus station which now is part of Indiana Public Radio.[14] He was fired for treating classical music with irreverence.[14]
Letterman then became involved with the founding of another campus station—WAGO-AM 570 (now WWHI, 91.3).[15]
Letterman credits Paul Dixon—host of the Paul Dixon Show, a Cincinnati-based talk show also shown in Indianapolis while Letterman was growing up—for inspiring his choice of career:[3]
- "I was just out of college [in 1969], and I really didn't know what I wanted to do. And then all of a sudden I saw him doing it [on TV]. And I thought: That's really what I want to do!"
Weatherman[link]
Letterman began his career as a radio talk show host on WNTS (AM), and on Indianapolis television station WLWI (now called WTHR) as an anchor, and weatherman. He received some attention for his unpredictable on-air behavior, which included congratulating a tropical storm for being upgraded to a hurricane and predicting hail stones "the size of canned hams."[16] He would also occasionally report the weather and the day's very high and low temps for fictitious cities ("Eight inches of snow in Bingree and surrounding areas.") while on another occasion saying that a state border had been erased.[17] ("From space you can see the border between Indiana and Ohio has been erased. I'm not in favor of this.") He also starred in a local kiddie show, made wisecracks as host of a late night TV show called "Freeze-Dried Movies" (he once acted out a scene from "Godzilla" using plastic dinosaurs),[18] and hosted a talk show that aired early on Saturday mornings called "Clover Power,"[19] in which he interviewed 4-H members about their projects.[20]
In 1971, Letterman appeared as a pit road reporter for ABC Sports' tape-delayed coverage of the Indianapolis 500.[21] David initially is introduced as Chris Economaki in his job as a corner reporter. Letterman interviews Mario Andretti who has just crashed out of the race and asks him a question about traffic on the course.
Move to Los Angeles[link]
In 1975, encouraged by his then-wife Michelle and several of his Sigma Chi fraternity brothers, Letterman moved to Los Angeles, California, with hope of becoming a comedy writer.[22] He started off by writing material for comedian Jimmie Walker.[23] He also began performing stand-up comedy at The Comedy Store, a proving ground for unknown comics.
In the summer of 1977, Letterman was a writer and regular on the six-week summer series The Starland Vocal Band Show, broadcast on CBS.[24] He hosted a 1977 pilot for a game show entitled The Riddlers[25][26] that was never picked up and co-starred in the Barry Levinson-produced comedy special Peeping Times that aired in January 1978. Later that year, Letterman was a cast member on Mary Tyler Moore's variety show, Mary.[27] Letterman made a guest appearance on Mork & Mindy (as a parody of EST leader Werner Erhard[28]) and appearances on game shows such as The $20,000 Pyramid,[29] The Gong Show, Password Plus[30] and Liar's Club, as well as talk shows such as The Mike Douglas Show.[31] He was also screen tested for the lead role in the 1980 film Airplane!, a role that eventually went to Robert Hays.[32]
His dry, sarcastic humor caught the attention of scouts for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and Letterman was soon a regular guest on the show. Letterman became a favorite of Carson's and was a regular guest host for the show beginning in 1978. Letterman credits Carson as the person who influenced his career the most.[2]
NBC[link]
Morning show[link]
Main article: The David Letterman Show
On June 23, 1980, Letterman was given his own morning comedy show on NBC, The David Letterman Show. It was originally 90 minutes long, but was shortened to 60 minutes in August 1980.[33] The show was a critical success, winning two Emmy Awards, but was a ratings disappointment and was canceled in October 1980.
[edit] Late Night with David Letterman
Main article: Late Night with David Letterman
NBC kept Letterman under contract to try him in a different time slot. Late Night with David Letterman debuted February 1, 1982; the first guest on the first show was Bill Murray.[34] Murray also guested on January 31, 2012 – 30 years later. The show ran Monday through Thursday at 12:30 a.m. Eastern Time, immediately following The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (a Friday night broadcast was added in June 1987). It was seen as being edgy and unpredictable, and soon developed a cult following (particularly among college students). Letterman's reputation as an acerbic interviewer was borne out in verbal sparring matches with Cher[35] (who even called him an asshole on the show), Shirley MacLaine,[36] Charles Grodin, and Madonna. The show also featured comedy segments and running characters, in a style heavily influenced by the 1950s and 1960s programs of Steve Allen.[37] Although Ernie Kovacs is often cited as an influence on the show,[38] Letterman has denied this.[2]
The show often featured quirky, genre-mocking regular features, including "Stupid Pet Tricks[39] ", dropping various objects off the roof of a five-story building,[40] demonstrations of unorthodox clothing (such as suits made of Alka-Seltzer,[41] Velcro[42] and suet), a recurring Top 10 list, the Monkey-Cam[43] (and the Audience Cam), and a facetious letter-answering segment.[44] The Top 10 list, several "Film[s] by My Dog Bob" in which a camera was mounted on Letterman's own dog[45] (often with comic results), Stupid Human Tricks,[46] Small Town News,[47] and Stupid Pet Tricks[48] (which had its origins on Letterman's morning show) all eventually moved with Letterman to CBS.
Other memorable moments included Letterman using a bullhorn to interrupt a live interview on The Today Show, announcing that he was the NBC president while not wearing any pants; interrupting Al Roker on WNBC-TV's broadcast of Live at Five by walking into their studio (which occupied the same floor of 30 Rockefeller Plaza as Letterman's studio); and staging "elevator races", complete with commentary by NBC Sports' Bob Costas. In one infamous appearance, in 1982, Andy Kaufman (who was already wearing a neck brace) appeared to be slapped and knocked to the ground by professional wrestler Jerry Lawler (though Lawler and Kaufman's friend Bob Zmuda later revealed that the event was staged.)[49] In another memorable exchange, sex expert Dr. Ruth Westheimer included cucumbers in a list of handy sex objects that women could find at home. The following night, guest Ted Koppel asked Letterman "May I insert something here?" and Dave responded "OK, as long as it's not a cucumber."[citation needed]
[edit] Late Show with David Letterman
Main article: Late Show with David Letterman
In 1992, Johnny Carson retired, and many fans believed that Letterman would become host of The Tonight Show. When NBC instead gave the job to Jay Leno, Letterman departed NBC to host his own late-night show on CBS, opposite The Tonight Show at 11:30 p.m., called the Late Show with David Letterman. The new show debuted on August 30, 1993 and was taped at the historic Ed Sullivan Theater, where Ed Sullivan taped his eponymous variety series from 1948 to 1971. For Letterman's arrival, CBS spent $8 million in renovations.[50] In addition to that cost, CBS also signed Letterman to a lucrative three-year, $14 million/year contract,[51] doubling his Late Night salary. The total cost for everything (renovations, negotiation right paid to NBC, signing Letterman, announcer Bill Wendell, Shaffer, the writers and the band) was over $140 million.
But while the expectation was that Letterman would retain his unique style and sense of humor with the move, Late Show was not an exact replica of his old NBC program. Recognizing the more formal mood (and wider audience) of his new time slot and studio, Letterman eschewed his trademark blazer with khaki pants and white sneakers wardrobe combination in favor of expensive shoes, tailored suits and light-colored socks. The monologue was lengthened and Paul Shaffer and the "World's Most Dangerous Band" followed Letterman to CBS, but they added a brass section and were rebranded the "CBS Orchestra" as a short monologue and a small band were mandated by Carson while Letterman occupied the 12:30 slot. Additionally, because of intellectual property disagreements, Letterman was unable to import many of his Late Night segments verbatim,[52] but he sidestepped this problem by simply renaming them (the "Top Ten List" became the "Late Show Top Ten", "Viewer Mail" became the "CBS Mailbag", etc.)
Popularity[link]
The main competitor of The Late Show is NBC's The Tonight Show, which was hosted by Jay Leno for nearly 16 years, but from June 1, 2009, to January 22, 2010, was hosted by Conan O'Brien. In 1993 and 1994, The Late Show consistently gained higher ratings than The Tonight Show. But in 1995, ratings dipped and Leno's show consistently beat Letterman's in the ratings from the time that Hugh Grant came on Leno's show after Grant's arrest for soliciting a prostitute.;[53] Leno typically attracted about 5 million nightly viewers between 1999 and 2009. The Late Show lost nearly half its audience during its competition with Leno, attracting 7.1 million viewers nightly in its 1993–94 season and about 3.8 million per night as of Leno's departure in 2009.[54] In the final months of his first stint as host of The Tonight Show, Leno beat Letterman in the ratings by a 1.3 million viewer margin (5.2 million to 3.9 million), and Nightline and The Late Show were virtually tied.[55] Once O'Brien took over Tonight, however, Letterman closed the gap in the ratings.[56][57][58] O'Brien initially drove the median age of Tonight Show viewers from 55 to 45, with most older viewers opting to watch The Late Show instead.[59]
Following Leno's return to The Tonight Show, however, Leno has regained his lead.[60]
Letterman's shows have garnered both critical and industry praise, receiving 67 Emmy Award nominations, winning 12 times in his first 20 years in late night television. From 1993–2009, Letterman ranked higher than Leno in the annual Harris Poll of Nation's Favorite TV Personality 12 times.[61] For example, in 2003 and 2004 Letterman ranked second in that poll, behind only Oprah Winfrey, a year that Leno was ranked fifth.[62] Leno was higher than Letterman on that poll three times during the same period, in 1998, 2007, and 2008.[61]
Hosting the Academy Awards[link]
On March 27, 1995, Letterman acted as the host for the 67th Academy Awards ceremony. Critics blasted[63] Letterman for what they deemed a poor hosting of the Oscars, noting that his irreverent style undermined the traditional importance and glamor of the event.[citation needed] In a joke about their unusual names (inspired by a similar joke by Woody Allen), he started off by introducing Uma Thurman to Oprah Winfrey, and then both of them to Keanu Reeves: "Oprah...Uma. Uma...Oprah," "Have you kids met Keanu?"[64] This and many of his other jokes fell flat.[citation needed] Although Letterman attracted the highest ratings to the annual telecast since 1983, many felt that the bad publicity garnered by Letterman's hosting caused a decline in the Late Show's ratings.[65]
Letterman recycled the apparent debacle into a long-running gag. On his first show after the Oscars, he joked, "Looking back, I had no idea that thing was being televised." He lampooned his stint two years later, during Billy Crystal's opening Oscar skit, which also parodied the plane-crashing scenes from that year's chief nominated film, The English Patient.
For years afterward, Letterman recounted his hosting the Oscars, although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences continued to hold Letterman in high regard and they had invited him to host the Oscars again.[66][67] On September 7, 2010, he made an appearance on the premiere of the 14th season of The View, and confirmed that he had been considered for hosting again.
Heart surgery hiatus[link]
On January 14, 2000, a routine check-up revealed that an artery in Letterman's heart was severely obstructed. He was rushed to emergency surgery for a quintuple bypass.[68]
During the initial weeks of his recovery, reruns of the Late Show were shown and introduced by friends of Letterman including Drew Barrymore,[58] Ray Romano, Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Megan Mullally, Bill Murray, Regis Philbin, Charles Grodin, Nathan Lane, Julia Roberts,[58] Bruce Willis, Jerry Seinfeld, Martin Short, Steven Seagal, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Danny DeVito, Steve Martin, and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Subsequently, while still recovering from surgery, Letterman revived the late night tradition that had virtually disappeared on network television during the 1990s of 'guest hosts' by allowing Bill Cosby, Kathie Lee Gifford (recommended by Regis Philbin, who was asked first but had no time in his schedule), Dana Carvey, Janeane Garofalo, and others to host new episodes of The Late Show. Cosby—the show's first guest host—refused to sit at Letterman's desk out of respect, using the couch instead; Garofalo followed suit, utilizing a set of grade-school desks instead.
Upon his return to the show on February 21, 2000, Letterman brought all of the doctors and nurses on stage who had participated in his surgery and recovery (with extra teasing of a nurse who had given him bed baths—"This woman has seen me naked!"),[69] including Dr. O. Wayne Isom and physician Louis Aronne, who frequently appears on the show. In a show of emotion, Letterman was nearly in tears as he thanked the health care team with the words "These are the people who saved my life!" The episode earned an Emmy nomination. For a number of episodes, Letterman continued to crack jokes about his bypass, including saying, "Bypass surgery: it's when doctors surgically create new blood flow to your heart. A bypass is what happened to me when I didn't get The Tonight Show! It's a whole different thing." In a later running gag he lobbied his home state of Indiana to rename the freeway circling Indianapolis (I-465) "The David Letterman Bypass." He also featured a montage of faux news coverage of his bypass surgery, which included a clip of Dave's heart for sale on the Home Shopping Network. Letterman became friends with his doctors and nurses. In 2008, a Rolling Stone interview stated "he hosted a doctor and nurse who'd helped perform the emergency quintuple-bypass heart surgery that saved his life in 2000. 'These are people who were complete strangers when they opened my chest,' he says. 'And now, eight years later, they're among my best friends.' "[4]
Additionally, Letterman invited the band Foo Fighters to play "Everlong",[70] introducing them as "my favorite band, playing my favorite song."[71] During a later Foo Fighters appearance, Letterman said that Foo Fighters had been in the middle of a South American tour which they canceled to come play on his comeback episode.
Letterman again handed over the reins of the show to several guest hosts (including Bill Cosby, Brad Garrett, Elvis Costello, John McEnroe, Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell, Bonnie Hunt, Luke Wilson and bandleader Paul Shaffer) in February 2003, when he was diagnosed with a severe case of shingles. Later that year, Letterman made regular use of guest hosts—including Tom Arnold and Kelsey Grammer—for new shows broadcast on Fridays. In March 2007, Adam Sandler—who had been scheduled to be the lead guest—served as a guest host while Letterman was ill with a stomach virus.[72]
Re-signing with CBS[link]
In March 2002, as Letterman's contract with CBS neared expiration, ABC offered him the time slot for long-running news program Nightline with Ted Koppel. Letterman was interested as he believed he could never match Leno's ratings at CBS due to Letterman's complaint of weaker lead-ins from the network's late local news programs, but was reluctant to replace Koppel.[73] Letterman addressed his decision to re-sign on the air, stating that he was content at CBS and that he had great respect for Koppel.
On December 4, 2006, CBS revealed that Letterman signed a new contract to host The Late Show with David Letterman through the fall of 2010. "I'm thrilled to be continuing on at CBS," said Letterman. "At my age you really don't want to have to learn a new commute."[74] Letterman further joked about the subject by pulling up his right pants leg, revealing a tattoo, presumably temporary, of the ABC logo.
"Thirteen years ago, David Letterman put CBS late night on the map and in the process became one of the defining icons of our network," said Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Corporation. "His presence on our air is an ongoing source of pride, and the creativity and imagination that the Late Show puts forth every night is an ongoing display of the highest quality entertainment. We are truly honored that one of the most revered and talented entertainers of our time will continue to call CBS 'home.'"[75]
According to a 2007 article in Forbes magazine, Letterman earned $40 million a year.[76] A 2009 article in The New York Times, however, said his salary was estimated at $32 million per year.[77] In June 2009, Letterman's Worldwide Pants and CBS reached agreement to continue the Late Show until at least August 2012. The previous contract had been set to expire in 2010, and the two-year extension is shorter than the typical three-year contract period negotiated in the past.[77] Worldwide Pants agreed to lower its fee for the show, though it had remained a "solid moneymaker for CBS" under the previous contract.[77]
On the February 3, 2011, edition of the Late Show, during an interview with Howard Stern, Letterman said he would continue to do his talk show for "maybe two years, I think."[78]
2007–2008 writers' strike[link]
The Late Show went off air for eight weeks during the months of November and December because of the Writers Guild of America strike. Letterman's production company—Worldwide Pants—was the first company to make an individual agreement with the WGA,[79] thus allowing his show to come back on air on January 2, 2008. On his first episode since being off air, he surprised the viewing audience with his newly grown beard, which signified solidarity with the strike.[80] His beard was shaved off during the show on January 7, 2008.
Controversy over jokes about daughter of Sarah Palin[link]
On June 8 and June 9, 2009, Letterman told a sexually-themed joke on his show each night about a daughter of Sarah Palin.[81] Palin was in New York City at the time with her fourteen year-old daughter, Willow, and the jokes were said to be aimed at the daughter, never named, who was visiting New York City with her mother.[81] Palin criticized the jokes, saying in a statement posted on the internet that "I doubt he'd ever dare make such comments about anyone else's daughter," and "laughter incited by sexually-perverted comments made by a 62-year-old male celebrity aimed at a 14-year-old girl" is "disgusting."[82] On June 10, Letterman responded to the controversy on his show by stating that the jokes were meant to be about Palin's eighteen year-old daughter, Bristol, whose pregnancy as an unmarried teenager had caused controversy during the 2008 Presidential election, and that "(t)hese are not jokes made about (Palin's) 14-year-old daughter. I would never, never make jokes about raping or having sex of any description with a 14-year-old girl."[82] His remarks didn't put an end to the public criticism, however, with the National Organization for Women, who supported Palin in a statement, noting he had given only "something of an apology."[81] With the controversy not subsiding, Letterman addressed the issue again on his June 15 show, faulting himself for the error and apologizing "especially to the two daughters involved, Bristol and Willow, and also to the governor and her family and everybody else who was outraged by the joke."[83]
Letterman and Carson[link]
In spite of Johnny Carson's clear intention to pass his title to Letterman, NBC selected Jay Leno to host The Tonight Show after Carson's departure.[84] Letterman maintained a close relationship with Carson through his break with NBC. Three years after he left for CBS, HBO produced a made-for-television movie called The Late Shift, based on a book by New York Times reporter Bill Carter, chronicling the battle between Letterman and Leno for the coveted Tonight Show hosting spot. Letterman would mock the film for months afterward, specifically on how the actor playing him, John Michael Higgins, did not resemble him in the least.[citation needed]
Carson later made a few cameo appearances as a guest on Letterman's show. Carson's final television appearance came May 13, 1994, on a Late Show episode taped in Los Angeles, when he made a surprise appearance during a 'Top 10 list' segment. The audience went wild as Letterman stood up and proudly invited Carson to sit at his desk. The applause was so protracted that Carson was unable to say anything, and he finally returned backstage as the applause continued (it was later explained that Carson had laryngitis, though Carson can be heard talking to Letterman during his appearance).
In early 2005, it was revealed that Carson still kept up with current events and late-night TV right up to his death that year, and that he occasionally sent jokes to Letterman, who used these jokes in his monologue; according to CBS senior vice president Peter Lassally (a onetime producer for both men), Carson got "a big kick out of it."[85] Letterman would do a characteristic Johnny Carson golf swing after delivering one of Carson's jokes. In a tribute to Carson, all of the opening monologue jokes during the first show following Carson's death were written by Carson.
Lassally also claimed that Carson had always believed Letterman, not Leno, to be his "rightful successor."[86] Letterman also frequently employs some of Carson's trademark bits on his show, including "Carnac the Magnificent" (with Paul Shaffer as Carnac), "Stump the Band" and the "Week in Review."
Letterman and Oprah Winfrey[link]
Letterman and Oprah had a 16 year feud which according to Letterman started when he and his girlfriend decided to skip out on a bill, tricking the waiter into thinking Oprah agreed to pay it.[87]
On September 10, 2007, Letterman made his first appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He shared pictures of his son and live-in girlfriend. The so-called feud between Letterman and Winfrey apparently ended in 2005 when Winfrey appeared on CBS's Late Show with David Letterman on December 2, in an event Letterman jokingly referred to as "the Super Bowl of Love".[88] Winfrey had previously appeared on Letterman's show when he was hosting NBC's Late Night on May 2, 1989.
Winfrey and Letterman also appeared together in a Late Show promo that aired during CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLI in February 2007, with the two sitting next to each other on the couch watching the game. Since the game was played between the Indianapolis Colts and Chicago Bears, the Indianapolis-born Letterman wears a Peyton Manning jersey, while Winfrey—who tapes her show in Chicago—is in a Brian Urlacher jersey.[89] Three years later, during CBS's coverage of Super Bowl XLIV, the two appeared again, this time with Winfrey sitting on a couch between Letterman and Jay Leno. The appearance was Letterman's idea: Leno flew to New York City in an NBC corporate jet, sneaking into the Ed Sullivan Theater during the Late Show's February 4 taping wearing a disguise, meeting Winfrey and Letterman at a living room set created in the theater's balcony where they taped their promo.[90]
Response to Internet death threat[link]
On August 17, 2011, it was reported that a Muslim militant had posted a death threat against Letterman on a website frequented by Al-Qaeda supporters, calling on American Muslims to kill Letterman for making a joke about the death of an Al-Qaeda leader killed in a drone strike in Pakistan in June 2011.[91] In his show on August 22, Letterman joked about the threat, saying "State Department authorities are looking into this. They're not taking this lightly. They're looking into it. They're questioning, they're interrogating, there's an electronic trail—but everybody knows it's Leno."[92]
Appearances in other media[link]
Letterman appeared in issue 239 of the Marvel comic book The Avengers, in which the title characters are guests on Late Night.[93] A parody of Letterman, named "David Endochrine," is gassed to death along with his bandleader named "Paul" and their audience in Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.[94]
Letterman appeared in the pilot episode of the short-lived 1986 series "Coach Toast", and he appears with a bag over his head as a guest on Bonnie Hunt's ca. 1993 sitcom The Building. He also appears in The Simpsons, as himself in a couch gag when The Simpsons find themselves (and the couch) in "Late Night with David Letterman." He had a cameo in the feature film Cabin Boy, with Chris Elliott, who worked as a writer on Letterman's show. In this and other appearances, Letterman is listed in the credits as "Earl Hofert", the name of Letterman's maternal grandfather. He also appeared as himself in the Howard Stern biopic Private Parts as well as the 1999 Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon, in a few episodes of Garry Shandling's 1990s TV series The Larry Sanders Show and in "The Abstinence", a 1996 episode of the sitcom Seinfeld. Letterman also made an uncredited appearance in the first episode of the third season of the sitcom The Nanny.
Letterman provided vocals for the Warren Zevon song "Hit Somebody" from My Ride's Here,[95] and provided the voice for Butt-head's father in the 1996 animated film Beavis and Butt-head Do America.
In 2010, a documentary Dying to Do Letterman was released directed by Joke Fincioen and Biagio Messina featuring Steve Mazan, a stand up comic, who has cancer and wants to appear on the Letterman Show. The film won Best Documentary and Jury Awards at the Cinequest Film Festival.[96] Steve Mazan published a same-titled book (full title, Dying to Do Letterman: Turning Someday into Today) about his own saga.[97]
Known for rarely giving television interviews, Letterman appeared as an exclusive guest on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight on May 29, 2012. He was interviewed for one full hour by a long-time friend and fellow television host Regis Philbin, who guest hosted the show during Piers Morgan's leave during that week.
Other projects[link]
Worldwide Pants[link]
Letterman started his own production company—Worldwide Pants Incorporated—which produced his show and several others, including Everybody Loves Raymond, The Late Late Show, and several critically acclaimed, but short-lived television series for Bonnie Hunt. Worldwide Pants also produced the dramedy program Ed, which aired on NBC from 2000–2004. It was Letterman's first association with NBC since he left the network in 1993. During Ed's run, the star, Tom Cavanagh, appeared as a guest on The Late Show several times.
In 2005, Worldwide Pants produced its first feature film, Strangers with Candy, which was a prequel to the Comedy Central TV series of the same title. In 2007, Worldwide Pants produced the ABC comedy series, Knights of Prosperity.
Worldwide Pants made significant news in December 2007 when it was announced that Letterman's company had independently negotiated its own contract with the Writers Guild of America, East, thus allowing Letterman, Craig Ferguson, and their writers to return to work, while the union continued its strike against production companies, networks and studios who had not reached an agreement.
Record company[link]
In late April 2010, several music industry websites reported that Letterman started a record label named Clear Entertainment/C.E. Music and signed his first artist, Runner Runner.[98][99] Lucy Walsh announced on her MySpace page that she has been signed by Letterman and Clear Entertainment/C.E. Music and is working on her album.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing[link]
Main article: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLLR) is an auto racing team that currently races in the American Le Mans Series, and part-time in the Indy Racing League. It is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, businessman Mike Lanigan, and Letterman himself, and is based in Hilliard, Ohio. The team won the 2004 Indianapolis 500 with driver Buddy Rice. Letterman was a pit reporter for ABC in the 1971 Indianapolis 500.[21]
American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming[link]
Main article: American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming
American Foundation for Courtesy and Grooming is Letterman's private foundation. Through it, Letterman has donated millions of dollars to charities and other non-profits in Indiana and Montana, celebrity-affiliated organizations such as Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, universities such as Ball State, and other organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Salvation Army, and Doctors Without Borders.
Personal life[link]
Marriages and long-term relationships[link]
In 1969, Letterman married Michelle Cook; the marriage ended by divorce in 1977.[100] He also had a long-term relationship with former head writer and producer on Late Night, Merrill Markoe. Markoe was the mind behind several Late Night staples, such as "Stupid Pet/Human Tricks".
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Wikinews has related news: TV late night show host David Letterman marries girlfriend of 23 years |
Letterman has a son, Harry Joseph Letterman (born on November 3, 2003), with Regina Lasko. Harry is named after Letterman's father.[101] In 2005, police discovered a plot to kidnap Harry Letterman and ransom him for $5 million. Kelly Frank, a house painter who had worked for Letterman, was charged in the conspiracy.[102]
Letterman and Lasko, who had been together since 1986, wed on March 19, 2009, during a quiet courthouse civil ceremony in Choteau, Montana, where he purchased a ranch in 1999.[103][104][105] Letterman announced the marriage during the taping of his March 23 show, shortly after congratulating Bruce Willis for getting married the previous week. Letterman told the audience he nearly missed the ceremony because his truck became stuck in mud two miles from their house.[106] The family resides in North Salem, New York, on a 108-acre (44 ha) estate.[107]
Stalking incident[link]
Beginning in May 1988, Letterman was stalked by Margaret Mary Ray, a woman suffering from schizophrenia. She once stole his Porsche, repeatedly broke into his house, and camped out on his tennis court. Her exploits drew national attention, and Letterman occasionally joked about her behavior in his show, although never mentioning her name. After she committed suicide in 1998, Letterman told the New York Times that he had had great compassion for her,[108] and publicly expressed sympathy.[109]
[edit] Extortion attempt and revelation of affairs
On his October 1, 2009, show, Letterman announced that he had been the victim of an extortion attempt by someone threatening to reveal that he had had sex with several of his female employees, and at the same time, he confirmed that he had had such relationships.[110] He stated that three weeks earlier (on September 9, 2009) someone had left a package in his car with material he said he would write into a screenplay and a book if Letterman did not pay him $2 million. Letterman said that he contacted the Manhattan District Attorney's office, ultimately cooperating with them to conduct a sting operation involving giving the man a phony check.[111] Subsequently, Robert J. "Joe" Halderman, a producer of the CBS true crime journalism series 48 Hours, was arrested after trying to deposit the check. He was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury and pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted grand larceny on October 2, 2009.[112] Eventually, on March 9, 2010, he pleaded guilty to this same felony and served a 6-month jail sentence, followed by probation and community service.[113]
A central figure in the case and one of the women Letterman had had a sexual relationship with was his longtime personal assistant Stephanie Birkitt, who often appeared with him on his show. She had also worked for 48 Hours.[114] Until a month prior to the revelations, she had shared a residence with Halderman,[115] who allegedly had copied her personal diary and used it, along with private emails, in the blackmail package.[116]
On October 3, 2009, a former CBS employee, Holly Hester, announced that she and Letterman had engaged in a year-long "secret" affair in the early 1990s while she was his intern and a student at New York University.[117]
In the days following the initial announcement of the affairs and the arrest, several prominent women, including Kathie Lee Gifford, co-host of NBC's Today Show, and NBC news anchor Ann Curry questioned whether Letterman's affairs with subordinates created an unfair working environment.[118] A spokesman for Worldwide Pants said that the company's sexual harassment policy did not prohibit sexual relationships between managers and employees.[119] According to business news reporter Eve Tahmincioglu, "CBS suppliers are supposed to follow the company's business conduct policies" and the CBS 2008 Business Conduct Statement states that "If a consenting romantic or sexual relationship between a supervisor and a direct or indirect subordinate should develop, CBS requires the supervisor to disclose this information to his or her Company's Human Resources Department..."[120]
On October 5, 2009, Letterman devoted a segment of his show to a public apology to his wife and staff.[121][122] Three days later, Worldwide Pants announced that Birkitt had been placed on a "paid leave of absence" from the Late Show.[123] On October 15, CBS News announced that the company's Chief Investigative Correspondent, Armen Keteyian, had been assigned to conduct an "in-depth investigation" into Halderman's blackmail of Letterman.[124]
Awards and honors[link]
Awards[link]
Main article: List of David Letterman awards
In his capacities as either a writer, producer, performer, or as part of a writing team, Letterman is among the most nominated people in Emmy Award history with 52 nominations, winning two Daytime Emmys and five Primetime Emmys since 1981. His nomination record is second only to producer Jac Venza, who holds the record for the most Emmy nominations for an individual (57). Letterman has been nominated every year since 1984, when he first appeared on late night television as the host of Late Night with David Letterman. Additionally, he has won four American Comedy Awards. Letterman was the first recipient of the Johnny Carson Award for Comedic Excellence at The Comedy Awards in 2011.
David Letterman Communication and Media Building[link]
On September 7, 2007, Letterman visited his alma mater, Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, for the dedication of a communications facility named in his honor for his dedication to the university throughout his career as a comedian. The $21 million, 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m2) David Letterman Communication and Media Building opened for the 2007 fall semester. It features state-of-the-art recording equipment and facilities. Thousands of Ball State students, faculty, and local residents welcomed Letterman back to Indiana.[125] Letterman's emotional speech touched on his struggles as a college student and his late father, and also included the "top ten good things about having your name on a building", finishing with, "if reasonable people can put my name on a $21 million building, anything is possible."[126]
At the same time, Letterman also received a Sagamore of the Wabash award given by Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, which recognizes distinguished service to the state of Indiana.[125]
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- ^ John O'Connor (March 29, 1995). "The Winner Isn't David Letterman". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/1995/03/29/movies/critic-s-notebook-the-winner-isn-t-david-letterman.html. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
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- ^ Finke, Nikki (February 25, 2008). "The 411 about David Letterman & Oscar". Deadline Hollywood Daily. http://www.deadline.com/2008/02/the-411-about-david-letterman-oscar/.
- ^ Keller, Joel (23 February 2011). "Interview: Bruce Vilanch". A.V. Club. http://www.avclub.com/articles/bruce-vilanch,52248/. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ Kelley, Tina (January 15, 2000). "Artery Blocked, Letterman Has Heart Bypass Surgery". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/15/nyregion/artery-blocked-letterman-has-heart-bypass-surgery.html?sec=health. Retrieved March 23, 2009.
- ^ "David Letterman biography". Popstarsplus.com. http://www.popstarsplus.com/celebrities_davidletterman.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
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- ^ Seth Abramovitch (February 4, 2011). "Is David Letterman Ready to be Done with the Late Show?". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/is-david-letterman-ready-to-be-done-with-the-late-show/story/25084.html. Retrieved 2011-06-17. "Dave tried valiantly to change the subject to Stern’s new Sirius deal, rumored to be worth even more than the $500 million contract he signed with them in 2005. But once again, Stern (now 57) turned the tables on Dave (now 63), asking the host, “How much longer are you doing this?” To which Letterman replied: “Maybe two years, I think?”"
- ^ "e-mail 12-28-07". wga.org. http://www.wga.org/subpage_member.aspx?id=2692.
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- ^ a b Caitlin Taylor (June 11, 2009). "Palin vs. Letterman". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2009/06/palin-vs-letterman/. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
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- ^ "The Independent". Johnny Carson, king of late-night chat, dies at 79 (London). January 24, 2005. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/johnny-carson-king-of-latenight-chat-dies-at-79-488063.html. Retrieved July 6, 2009.
- ^ Pierce, Scott D. (January 24, 2005). "TV critics genuinely fond of Carson". Deseret News. http://www.deseretnews.com/article/600106891/TV-critics-genuinely-fond-of-Carson.html. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
- ^ "New York Post". Carson Feeds Letterman Lines. http://pqarchiver.nypost.com/nypost/access/781543221.html?dids=781543221:781543221&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+20%2C+2005&author=Post+Wire+Services&pub=New+York+Post&edition=&startpage=102&desc=CARSON+FEEDS+LETTERMAN+LINES. Retrieved December 17, 2006.
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- ^ "Dave and Oprah's Super Bowl of Love". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_i5we6MB-w.
- ^ Bill Carter (February 7, 2010). "How the Letterman-Oprah-Leno Super Bowl Ad Came Together". Media Decoder (The New York Times). http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/how-the-letterman-oprah-leno-super-bowl-ad-came-together/. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
- ^ "Militant makes death threat against David Letterman". Reuters. August 17, 2011. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/17/us-davidletterman-idUSTRE77G6K520110817. Retrieved 2011-08-18.
- ^ Carter, Bill (August 22, 2011). "Letterman Responds to Death Threats in Monologue". The New York Times. http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/letterman-responds-to-death-threats-in-monologue/. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
- ^ The Avengers meet David Letterman reviewed at misterkitty.org
- ^ Review of The Dark Knight Returns at Batman-on-film.com
- ^ Warren Zevon : Hit Somebody (The Hockey Song) from Artistdirect
- ^ Dying to Do Letterman official website
- ^ The Book Tree: Book Review - Dying to Do Letterman
- ^ Runner Runner sign to EMI
- ^ Vozick, Simon (2010-04-28). "David Letterman starts record label, signs pop-punk band". Music-mix.ew.com. http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/04/28/david-letterman-runner-band/. Retrieved 2010-11-07.
- ^ Biography for David Letterman at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Letterman: It's A Boy!, 'Late Show' Host, Girlfriend Have 9 Pound, 11 Ounce Son". CBS News. November 4, 2003. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/04/entertainment/main581713.shtml.
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- ^ "David Letterman Weds!". People. March 23, 2009. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20267367,00.html. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
- ^ Rhein, Jamie (March 25, 2009). "Great American Road Trip: Choteau, Montana, Letterman's Hangout is a Gem of a Town". Gadling. AOL Travel. http://www.gadling.com/2009/03/25/choteau-montana-lettermans-hangout-is-a-gem-of-a-town/. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
- ^ "Heartfelt Thanks From Letterman". CBS News. February 11, 2009. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/22/entertainment/main682106.shtml. Retrieved September 3, 2011.
- ^ Snead, Elizabeth (2009-03-23). "David Letterman (finally) gets hitched to Regina Lasko". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/03/ok-theres-somet.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ Dave's domain from the March 22, 2007 "Gimme Shelter" column in the New York Post
- ^ Bruni, Frank (November 22, 1998). "For Letterman Stalker, Mental Illness Was Family Curse and Scarring Legacy". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9E0CE7DC1130F931A15752C1A96E958260. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
- ^ Foster, David; Levinson, Arlene (October 10, 1998). "Suicide on a railroad track ends a celebrity-stalker's inner agony". Associated Press, online Athens. http://www.onlineathens.com/1998/101198/1011.a3letterman.html.
- ^ Gold, Matea (October 2, 2009). "David Letterman on extortion attempt: 'I felt menaced by this'". Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/10/david-letterman-on-extortion-attempt-i-felt-menaced-by-this.html.
- ^ Martinez, Edecio (October 2, 2009). "Robert Joe Halderman, 48 Hours Producer, Named in David Letterman Sex Extortion Plot". CBSnews.com. http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/10/02/crimesider/entry5357903.shtml?tag=cbsnewsCrimesiderArea.0.
- ^ Honan, Edith (September 2, 2009). "Suspect in Letterman extortion pleads not guilty". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSTRE5910GR20091002. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
- ^ Grace, Melissa; Boyle, Christina; McShane, Larry (March 9, 2010). "Ex-CBS producer Robert Halderman pleads guilty to blackmailing David Letterman over intern affairs". NY Daily News (New York). http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/03/09/2010-03-09_david_letterman_blackmailer_robert_halderman_will_plead_guilty_take_sixmonth_jai.html. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
- ^ Shea, Danny (October 2, 2009). "Stephanie Birkitt". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/02/stephanie-birkitt-letterm_n_307558.html. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
- ^ Carter, Bill; Stelter, Brian (October 2, 2009). "Letterman Extortion Raises Questions for CBS". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/business/media/03extort.html.
- ^ "Stephanie Birkitt Secret Diary at Center of Letterman Sex Extortion, Say Cops". CBS News/Associated press. October 5, 2009. http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/10/05/crimesider/entry5364879.shtml. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
- ^ Cahalan, Sussanah; Karni, Annie; Cohen, Stephanie (October 4, 2009). "'Late Show' staff gals got plenty of 'advances'". New York Post. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/late_show_staff_gals_got_plenty_QzBeMomGK52ixJtyl0Z8kI. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ "Will women viewers turn away from Letterman?". Associated Press. October 4, 2009. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33167148/ns/today-entertainment/t/will-women-viewers-turn-away-letterman/. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ Gold, Matea; Collins, Scott (October 3, 2009). "David Letterman affair is no joke". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-letterman3-2009oct03,0,257832,full.story. Retrieved 2009-10-04. "'We have a written policy in our employee manual that covers harassment,' the spokesman said in a statement. 'It is circulated to every employee every year. Dave is not in violation of our policy and no one has ever raised a complaint against him.'"
- ^ Tahmincioglu, Eve (October 4, 2009). "Sleeping with the boss often leads to trouble: Policies on workplace romances aim to limit legal liabilities". MSNBC. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33146450/ns/business-careers/. Retrieved 2009-10-04. "If a consenting romantic or sexual relationship between a supervisor and a direct or indirect subordinate should develop, CBS requires the supervisor to disclose this information to his or her Company's Human Resources Department to ensure that there are no issues of actual or apparent favoritism, conflict of interest, sexual harassment, or any other negative impact on others in the work environment."
- ^ "Letterman apologizes to wife on Monday's show: Late-night host says Regina Lasko has been 'horribly hurt' by his behavior". Associated Press. MSNBC. October 5, 2009-. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33184320/ns/entertainment-television/. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
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- ^ "David Letterman's former mistress Stephanie Birkitt banned from Late Show set". London Telegraph. October 8, 2009. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/6271085/David-Lettermans-former-mistress-Stephanie-Birkitt-banned-from-Late-Show-set.html. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
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- ^ a b Lloyd, Christopher (September 8, 2007). "It's no joke: Ball State dedicates building in Letterman's honor". indystar.com. http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200781121039.
- ^ Ball State University (September 7, 2007). David Letterman Communication and Media Building (videos). http://www.bsu.edu/web/news/letterman/.
External links[link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: David Letterman |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: David Letterman |
- David Letterman at the Open Directory Project
- David Letterman at the Internet Movie Database
- David Letterman's Feb. 24, 1978 appearance on 90 Minutes Live
- Official Late Show biography
- 1999 article on Letterman from Salon.com
- Tape of Letterman announcing affairs/extortion attempt on Late Show
- Works by or about David Letterman in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
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| First | Host of Late Night Feb. 1, 1982 – June 25, 1993 |
Succeeded by Conan O'Brien |
| First | Host of The Late Show Aug. 30, 1993 – present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Whoopi Goldberg |
Host of the Academy Awards 1995 |
Succeeded by Whoopi Goldberg |
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| Persondata | |
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| Name | Letterman, David |
| Alternative names | Letterman, Dave |
| Short description | American television personality |
| Date of birth | April 12, 1947 |
| Place of birth | Indianapolis, Indiana, United States |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/David_Letterman
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Letterman
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
For other people named George Brett, see George Brett (disambiguation).
| George Brett | |
|---|---|
 Brett batting in 1990. |
|
| Third baseman / Designated hitter / First baseman | |
| Born: (1953-05-15) May 15, 1953 (age 59) Glen Dale, West Virginia |
|
| Batted: Left | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
| August 2, 1973 for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 3, 1993 for the Kansas City Royals | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .305 |
| Hits | 3,154 |
| Home runs | 317 |
| Runs batted in | 1,595 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
|
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame |
|
| Induction | 1999 |
| Vote | 98.2% (first ballot) |
George Howard Brett (born May 15, 1953), is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman, designated hitter, and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Kansas City Royals. Brett's 3,154 career hits are the most by any third baseman in major league history, and 16th all-time. Brett is one of four players in MLB history to accumulate 3,000 hits, 300 home runs, and a career .300 batting average with the others being Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Stan Musial. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 on the first ballot.
Contents |
Biography[link]
Early life and baseball career[link]
Brett was born in Glen Dale, West Virginia. He was the youngest of four sons of a sports-minded family which included Ken, the second oldest, a major league pitcher who had pitched in the 1967 World Series at age 19. Brothers John (eldest) and Bobby had brief careers in the minor leagues. Although his three older brothers were born in Brooklyn, George was born in the northern panhandle of West Virginia. Jack & Ethel Brett then moved the family to the Midwest and three years later to El Segundo, a suburb of Los Angeles, just south of Los Angeles International Airport. George grew up hoping to follow in the footsteps of his three older brothers. He graduated from El Segundo High School in 1971 and was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the second round (29th overall) of the 1971 baseball draft. His high school teammate was pitcher Scott McGregor. [1]
Brett began his professional baseball career as a shortstop, but had trouble going to his right defensively and was soon shifted to third base. As a third baseman, his powerful arm remained an asset, and he remained at that spot for more than 15 years. Brett's minor league stops were in Billings, Montana (1971) for Rookie League, San Jose, California (1972) for Single-A, and Omaha, Nebraska in 1973 for Triple-A with the Omaha Royals, batting .291, .274, and .284 respectively. The Royals promoted him to the major leagues on August 2, 1973, when he played in 13 games and was 5 for 40 (.125).
Brett won the starting third base job in 1974, but struggled at the plate until he asked for help from Charlie Lau, the Royals' batting coach. Spending the 1974 All-Star break working together, Lau taught Brett how to protect the entire plate and cover up some holes in his swing that experienced big-league pitchers were exploiting. Armed with this knowledge, Brett developed rapidly as a hitter, and finished the year with a .282 batting average in 113 games.
Brett topped the .300 mark for the first time in 1975, hitting .308, and then won his first batting title in 1976 with a .333 average. The four contenders for the batting title that year were Brett and Royals teammate Hal McRae, and Minnesota Twins teammates Rod Carew and Lyman Bostock. In dramatic fashion, Brett went 2 for 4 in the final game of the season against the Twins, beating out his three rivals, all playing in the same game. His lead over second-place McRae was less than .001. Brett won the title when a fly ball dropped in front of Twins left fielder Steve Brye, bounced on the Royals Stadium AstroTurf and over Brye's head to the wall; Brett circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run. McRae, batting just behind Brett in the line up, grounded out and Brett won his first batting title.
Early career success[link]
From May 8 through May 16, 1976, Brett had 3 or more hits in 6 consecutive games, a Major League record. That year, the Royals won the first of three straight AL West Division titles, beginning a great rivalry with the New York Yankees — whom they faced in the American League Championship Series each of those three years. In the fifth and final game of the 1976 ALCS, Brett hit a three-run homer in the top of the eighth inning to tie the score at six — only to see the Yankees' Chris Chambliss launch a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth to give the Yankees a 7–6 win.
A year later, Brett emerged as a power hitter with 22 home runs helping the Royals to another American League Championship Series, 1977. In 1978 Brett batted .294 (the only time between 1976 and 1983 in which he did not bat at least .300) in helping the Royals win a third consecutive American League West title. However, Kansas City once again lost to the Yankees in the ALCS, but not before Brett hit three home runs off Catfish Hunter in Game Three, becoming the second player to hit three home runs in an LCS game (Bob Robertson was the first, having done so in Game 2 of the 1971 NLCS).
Brett followed that up with a successful 1979 season, in which he finished third in AL MVP voting. He became the sixth player in league history to have at least 20 doubles, triples and homers all in one season (42-20-23) and led the league in hits, doubles and triples while batting .329, with an on-base percentage of .376 and a slugging percentage of .563.
1980[link]
All these impressive statistics were just a prelude to 1980, when Brett won the American League MVP and batted .390, a modern record for a third baseman. Brett's batting average was at or above .400 as late in the season as September 19, and the country closely followed his quest to bat .400 for an entire season, a feat which has not been accomplished since Ted Williams in 1941.
Brett's 1980 batting average of .390 is second only to Tony Gwynn's 1994 average of .394 (Gwynn played in 110 games and had 419 at-bats in the strike-shortened season, compared to Brett's 449 at bats in 1980) for the highest single season batting average since 1941. Brett also recorded 118 RBI, while appearing in just 117 games; it is the first instance of a player averaging one RBI per game (in more than 100 games) since Walt Dropo thirty seasons prior. He led the American League in both slugging and on-base percentage.
Brett started out slowly, hitting only .259 in April. In May, he hit .329 to get his season average to .301. In June, the 27 year-old third baseman hit .472 (17-36) to raise his season average to .337, but played his last game for a month on June 10, not returning to the lineup until after the All-Star Break on July 10.
In July, after being off for a month, he played in 21 games and hit .494 (42–85), raising his season average to .390. Brett started a 30-game hitting streak on July 18, which lasted until he went 0-3 on August 19 (the following night he went 3-for-3). During these 30 games Brett hit .467 (57-122). His high mark for the season came a week later, when Brett's batting average was at .407 on August 26, after he went 5-for-5 on a Tuesday night in Milwaukee. He batted .430 for the month of August (30 games), and his season average was at .403 with five weeks to go. For the three hot months of June, July, and August 1980, George Brett played in 60 American League games and hit .459 (111–242), most of it after a return from a monthlong injury. For these 60 games he had 69 RBIs and 14 home runs.
Brett missed another 10 days in early September and hit just .290 for the month. His average was at .400 as late as September 19, but he then had a 4 for 27 slump, and the average dipped to .384 on September 27, with a week to play. For the final week, Brett went 10-for-19, which included going 2 for 4 in the final regular season game on October 4. His season average ended up at .390 (175 hits in 449 at-bats = .389755), and he averaged more than one RBI per game. Brett was the first major league player since 1950 to have more than one RBI per game (90 or more RBIs). Brett led the league in both on-base percentage (.454) and slugging percentage (.664) on his way to capturing 17 of 28 possible first-place votes in the MVP race.[2] Since Al Simmons also batted .390 in 1931 for the Philadelphia Athletics, the only higher averages subsequent to 1931 were by Ted Williams of the Red Sox (.406 in 1941) and Tony Gwynn of the San Diego Padres (.394 in the strike-shortened 1994 season).
More importantly, the Royals won the American League West, and would face the Eastern champion Yankees in the ALCS.
1980 post-season[link]
In the 1980 post-season, Brett led the Royals to their first American League pennant, sweeping the playoffs in three games from the rival Yankees who had beaten K.C. in the 1976, 1977 and 1978 playoffs. In Game 3, Brett hit a ball well into the third deck of Yankee Stadium off of Yankees closer Goose Gossage. Gossage's previous pitch had been timed at 97 mph, leading ABC broadcaster Jim Palmer to say, "I doubt if he threw that ball 97 miles an hour." A moment later Palmer was given the actual reading of 98. "Well, I said it wasn't 97." Brett then hit .375 in the 1980 World Series, but the Royals lost in six games to the Philadelphia Phillies. During the Series, Brett made headlines after leaving Game 2 in the 6th inning due to hemorrhoid pain. Brett had minor surgery the next day, and in Game 3 returned to hit a home run as the Royals won in 10 innings 4-3. After the game, Brett was famously quoted "...my problems are all behind me."[3] In 1981 he missed two weeks of Spring training to have his hemorrhoids removed.[4]
The Pine Tar Incident[link]
Main article: Pine Tar Incident
On July 24, 1983, the Royals played the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. In the top of the ninth inning with two out, Brett hit a two-run homer to put the Royals up 5–4. Upon Brett crossing the plate, Yankees manager Billy Martin cited to the umpires a rule that stated that any foreign substance on a bat could extend no further than 18 inches from the knob. The umpires measured the amount of pine tar, a legal substance used by hitters to improve their grip, on Brett's bat; the pine tar extended about 24 inches. The home plate umpire, Tim McClelland, signaled the player out, ending the game as a Yankees win. An angry Brett charged out of the dugout and was immediately ejected. The Royals protested the game, and American League president Lee MacPhail upheld the protest, reasoning that the bat should have been excluded from future use but the home run should not have been nullified. Amid much controversy, the game was resumed on August 18 from the point of Brett's home run and ended with a Royals win.
1985[link]
In 1985, Brett had another brilliant season in which he helped propel the Royals to their second American League Championship. He batted .335 with 30 home runs and 112 RBI, finishing in the top 10 of the league in 10 different offensive categories. Defensively, he won his only Gold Glove. In the final week of the regular season, he went 9-for-20 at the plate with 7 runs, 5 homers, and 9 RBI in six crucial games, five of them victories, as the Royals closed a gap and won the division title at the end. He was MVP of the 1985 playoffs against the Toronto Blue Jays, with an incredible Game 3. With KC down in the series two games to none, Brett went 4-for-4, homering in his first two at bats against Doyle Alexander, and doubled to the same spot in right field in his third at bat, leading the Royals comeback. Brett then batted .370 in the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals including a four-hit performance in Game 7. The Royals again rallied from a 3–1 deficit to become World Series Champions for the only time in Royals history.
Later career[link]
In 1988, Brett moved across the diamond to first base in an effort to reduce his chances of injury and had another top-notch season with a .306 average, 24 homers and 104 RBI. But after batting just .290 with 16 homers the next year, it looked like his career might be slowing down. He got off to a terrible start in 1990 and at one point even considered retirement. But his manager, former teammate John Wathan, encouraged him to stick it out. Finally, in July, the slump ended and Brett batted .386 for the rest of the season. In September, he caught Rickey Henderson for the league lead, and in a battle down to the last day of the season, captured his third batting title with a .329 mark. This feat made Brett the only major league player to win batting titles in three different decades.
Brett played three more seasons for the Royals, mostly as their designated hitter, but occasionally filling in for injured teammates at first base. He passed the 3,000-hit mark in 1992, though he was picked off by Angel first baseman Gary Gaetti after stepping off the base to start enjoying the moment. Brett retired after the 1993 season; in his final at-bat, he hit a single up the middle against Rangers closer Tom Henke and scored on a home run by now teammate Gaetti. His last game was also notable as being the final game ever played at Arlington Stadium.
Brett's #5 was retired by the Royals on April 7, 1997. His number was the second number retired in Royals history, preceded by former Royals manager, Dick Howser (#10), in 1987. It was followed by second baseman and longtime teammate Frank White's #20 in 1998.
He was voted the Hometown Hero for the Royals in a two-month fan vote. This was revealed on the night of September 27, 2006 in an hour-long telecast on ESPN. He was one of the few players to receive more than 400,000 votes.[5]
Legacy[link]
 |
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| George Brett's number 5 was retired by the Kansas City Royals in 1994. |
His 3,154 career hits (2,044 hits actually as a third baseman, with Wade Boggs at 2,788 at the position according to www.baseball-reference.com) are the second most by any third baseman in major league history, and 15th all-time. Baseball historian Bill James regards him as the second-best third baseman of all time, trailing only his contemporary, Mike Schmidt. Brett was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999, with what was then the fourth-highest voting percentage in baseball history (98.2%), trailing only Tom Seaver, Nolan Ryan, and Ty Cobb. In 2007, Cal Ripken Jr. passed Brett with 98.5% of the vote. His voting percentage was higher than all-time outfielders Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Ted Williams, and Joe DiMaggio. That same year, he ranked Number 55 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Brett is one of four players in MLB history to accumulate 3,000 hits, 300 home runs, and a career .300 batting average (the others are Stan Musial, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron). Most indicative of his hitting style, Brett is sixth on the career doubles list, with 665 (trailing Tris Speaker, Pete Rose, Stan Musial, Ty Cobb, and Craig Biggio). Combining his superior hitting skill with his great defensive ability and team focus (and humility), George Brett is arguably one of the most complete baseball players of all time.
Post baseball activities[link]
Following the end of his baseball career, Brett became a vice president of the Royals and has worked as a part-time coach, as a special instructor in spring training, filling in as the batting coach, and as a minor league instructor dispatched to help prospects develop. He also runs a baseball equipment and foam-hand company, Brett Bros., with Bobby and, until his death, Ken Brett. He has also lent his name to a restaurant that failed on the Country Club Plaza.
In 1992, Brett married the former Leslie Davenport and they currently reside in the Kansas City suburb of Mission Hills, Kansas. The couple has three children: Jackson (named after his father), Dylan (named after Bob Dylan), and Robin (named after fellow Hall of Famer Robin Yount of the Milwaukee Brewers).[6]
Brett has also continued to raise money for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. Brett started to raise money for the Keith Worthington Chapter during his playing career in the mid 1980s.
Team Ownership[link]
In 1998, an investor group headed by Brett and his older brother, Bobby, made an unsuccessful bid to purchase the Kansas City Royals. Brett is the principal owner of the Tri-City Dust Devils, the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies.[7] He and his brother Bobby also co-own the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, a Los Angeles Dodgers Single-A partner, and lead ownership groups that control the Spokane Chiefs of the Western Hockey League,[8] the West Coast League's Bellingham Bells, and the High Desert Mavericks of the California League.[9]
See also[link]
- List of Major League Baseball Hit Records
- List of Major League Baseball doubles records
- List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
- List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBIs
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
- 3000 hit club
- 20–20–20 club
- Hitting for the cycle
- List of Major League Baseball batting champions
- List of Major League Baseball doubles champions
- List of Major League Baseball triples champions
References[link]
- ^ Sports Illustrated - "Love and Hate in El Segundo" - Jack Brett & his sons - 1981-08-17
- ^ Baseball Awards Voting for 1980 - Baseball-Reference.com
- ^ "Memories fill Kauffman Stadium". mlb.com. March 5, 2009. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090305&content_id=3921596.
- ^ "Brett in Hospital for Surgery". New York Times. March 1, 1981. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0DE2DC1439F932A35750C0A967948260.
- ^ "Brett named Royals Hometown Hero". MLB.com. September 27, 2006. http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20060927&content_id=1686268&vkey=news_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc.
- ^ "Hall of Famer Brett doesn't trust Clemens, upset by 'roids". CNN. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/danpatrick/blog/64703/index.html.
- ^ "Tri-City Dust Devils: About". http://tricity.dustdevils.milb.com/index.jsp?sid=t460. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- ^ From MLB to CHL - Sportsnet.ca
- ^ George Brett, Brother To Buy Another Team in Minors ESPN, March 17, 2009
External links[link]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- Career statistics at Baseball-Almanac.com
- George Brett at the Baseball Hall of Fame
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| Persondata | |
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| Name | Brett, George |
| Alternative names | Brett, George Howard; Brett, George H. |
| Short description | American professional baseball player, third baseman, designated hitter |
| Date of birth | May 15, 1953 |
| Place of birth | Glen Dale, West Virginia, United States |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/George_Brett
Related pages:
http://fr.wn.com/George Brett
http://es.wn.com/George Brett
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Brett
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
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Derek Sanderson Jeter ( /ˈdʒiːtər/; born June 26, 1974) is an American baseball shortstop who has played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. A five-time World Series champion, Jeter has been a central figure of the Yankees during their success of the 1990s and 2000s due to his clubhouse presence, on-field leadership, hitting ability, and baserunning. He is the Yankees' all-time career leader in hits (3,155), games played (2,472), stolen bases (342), and at bats (10,066). His accolades include twelve All-Star selections, five Gold Glove Awards, four Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, and the Roberto Clemente Award. Jeter is the all-time MLB leader in hits by a shortstop, and the 28th player to reach 3,000 hits.
The Yankees drafted Jeter out of high school in 1992, and he debuted in the major leagues in 1995. The following year, he became the Yankees' starting shortstop, won the Rookie of the Year Award, and helped the team win the 1996 World Series. Jeter continued to contribute during the team's championship seasons of 1998–2000; he finished third in voting for the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1998, recorded multiple career-high numbers in 1999, and won both the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP Awards in 2000. He has consistently placed among the AL leaders in hits and runs scored for the past ten years, and since 2003 has served as the Yankees' team captain.
