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Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners advancing around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter).
The opposing teams switch back and forth between batting and fielding; the batting team's turn to bat is over once the fielding team records three outs. One turn batting for each team constitutes an inning. A game is usually composed of nine innings, and the team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. Most games end after the ninth inning, but if scores are tied at that point, extra innings are usually played. Baseball has no game clock, though some competitions feature pace-of-play regulations such as a pitch clock to shorten game time.
Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. Baseball's American origins, as well as its reputation as a source of escapism during troubled points in American history such as the American Civil War and the Great Depression, have led the sport to receive the moniker of "America's Pastime"; since the late 19th century, it has been unofficially recognized as the national sport of the United States, though in modern times is considered less popular than other sports, such as American football. In addition to North America, baseball spread throughout the rest of the Americas and the Asia–Pacific in the 19th and 20th centuries, and is now considered the most popular sport in parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, particularly in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. (Full article...)
Featured articles -
Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.
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During the 1986 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, the New York Mets won the National League East (NL East), the National League Championship Series (NLCS) and the World Series, the team's second and most recent World Series championship. General manager Frank Cashen and manager Davey Johnson built a powerful team that compiled one of the best regular season records in MLB history.
The Mets' season began on April 8, 1986, with a victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium, and they were soon in first place, where they remained the rest of the season. Playing their 25th season in the National League, the Mets improved from a 98–64 record in 1985 to a franchise-best 108–54. They were never seriously challenged in the NL East, defeating the second-place Philadelphia Phillies by 211⁄2 games. They went on to defeat the Houston Astros in six games in the NLCS and the American League champion Boston Red Sox in seven games in the World Series. Both series featured a memorable extra-inning Game 6 won by the Mets after being down to their final at-bat: over the Astros to win the NLCS and over the Red Sox to avoid elimination and force a Game 7. (Full article...) -
William Derrick Bates (born December 7, 1963) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and pinch runner who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds. In 29 career games, Bates had a batting average of .125 with six hits, two runs batted in (RBI), 11 runs, and eight stolen bases. Though his defensive position was at second base, the Reds primarily used Bates as a pinch runner. After he scored the winning run in Game 2 of the 1990 World Series, Bates never played in MLB again.
Born in Houston, Bates attended the University of Texas and, in his freshman season, won the 1983 College World Series as a part of the Texas Longhorns baseball team. For the next two seasons, Bates was named to the College Baseball All-America Team, a team composed of the best collegiate baseball athletes in America. Drafted by Milwaukee in the fourth round of the 1985 MLB draft, he rose through the Brewers' farm system helping several of his minor league teams win their respective league titles. He made his MLB debut in 1989, after Milwaukee's starting second baseman Jim Gantner was injured. A trade in 1990 sent Bates to Cincinnati, where the Reds used him primarily as a pinch runner at the end of the regular season and into the postseason. Facing the Oakland Athletics in the World Series, Bates reached base on a pinch hit single against Dennis Eckersley and later scored the winning run in Game 2 as the Reds swept the Athletics four games to none. Following the World Series championship, the Reds re-signed Bates on a one-year contract, and he played for their Triple-A team. He spent the next year with the Chicago Cubs Triple-A affiliate, and last played exhibition baseball in 1995. After retiring, he worked as an equipment supplier in the oil and gas industry in Houston. (Full article...) -
Marcus Elmore Baldwin (October 29, 1863 – November 10, 1929), nicknamed "Fido" and "Baldy", was an American professional baseball player who pitched seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). In 346 career games, he pitched to a 154–165 win–loss record with 295 complete games. Baldwin set the single-season MLB wild pitches record with 83 that still stands today.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Baldwin made his professional debut for a Cumberland, Maryland, team in 1883. Though signed by Chicago White Stockings president Albert Spalding to pitch against the St. Louis Browns in the 1886 World Series, Baldwin did not play after the Browns objected. He made his MLB debut for the White Stockings in 1887, when a writer for the Oshkosh Daily Northwestern called him the "swiftest pitcher in the National League" (NL). Released by Chicago player–manager Cap Anson, he signed with the Columbus Solons of the American Association (AA) in 1889, where he led the league in innings pitched (513+2⁄3), losses (34), strikeouts (368), and walks (274). (Full article...) -
Orval Leroy Grove (August 29, 1919 – April 20, 1992) was an American professional baseball player. He was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ten seasons in the American League with the Chicago White Sox. In 207 career games, Grove pitched 1,176 innings and posted a win–loss record of 63–73, with 66 complete games, 11 shutouts, and a 3.78 earned run average (ERA).
The only freshman on the Proviso Township High School varsity baseball team, Grove's pitching ability attracted the attention of the White Sox. After signing with the team in 1937, Grove moved between the major leagues and minor leagues for a few seasons until 1943, when he found a solid place in the White Sox's pitching rotation. Grove had a career-year in 1943, finishing the season with career-bests in ERA, wins, and complete games; in 1944, he made his only All-Star appearance. (Full article...) -
James Francis Thorpe (Meskwaki: Wa-Tho-Huk; May 22 or 28, 1887 – March 28, 1953) was an American athlete who won Olympic gold medals and played professional football, baseball, and basketball. A citizen of the Sac and Fox Nation, he was the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics. Considered one of the most versatile athletes of modern sports, Thorpe won two Olympic gold medals in the 1912 Summer Olympics (one in classic pentathlon and the other in decathlon).
Thorpe lost his Olympic titles after it was found he had been paid for playing two seasons of semi-professional baseball before competing in the Olympics, thus violating the contemporary amateurism rules. In 1983, 30 years after his death, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) restored Thorpe's Olympic medals with replicas, after ruling that the decision to strip him of his medals fell outside of the required 30 days. Official IOC records still listed Thorpe as co-champion in decathlon and pentathlon until 2022, when it was decided to restore him as the sole champion in both events. (Full article...) -
Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who was the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947. The Dodgers signing Robinson heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball, which had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s.
Born in Cairo, Georgia, Robinson was raised in Pasadena, California. A four-sport student athlete at Pasadena Junior College and the University of California, Los Angeles, he was better known for football than he was for baseball, becoming a star with the UCLA Bruins football team. Following his college career, Robinson was drafted for service during World War II, but was court-martialed for refusing to sit at the back of a segregated Army bus, eventually being honorably discharged. Afterwards, he signed with the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro leagues, where he caught the eye of Branch Rickey, general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who thought he would be the perfect candidate for breaking the MLB color line. (Full article...) -
The 2009 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2009 season. As the 105th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff contested between the Philadelphia Phillies, champions of the National League (NL) and defending World Series champions, and the New York Yankees, champions of the American League (AL). The Yankees defeated the Phillies, 4 games to 2, winning their 27th World Series championship and their first since 2000.
The series was played between October 28 and November 4, broadcast on Fox, and watched by an average of roughly 19 million viewers. Home field advantage for the Series went to the AL for the eighth straight year as a result of its 4–3 win in the All-Star Game. The Phillies earned their berth into the playoffs by winning the National League East. The Yankees won the American League East to earn their berth, posting the best record in the Major Leagues. The Phillies reached the World Series by defeating the Colorado Rockies in the best-of-five National League Division Series and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the best-of-seven NL Championship Series (NLCS). The Yankees defeated the Minnesota Twins in the American League Division Series and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the AL Championship Series (ALCS) to advance to their first World Series since 2003. As a result of their loss, the Phillies became the first team since the 2001 Yankees to lose the World Series after winning it the previous year. The Phillies were also the last defending champions to make the World Series until the 2025 Dodgers. (Full article...) -
Hershiser pitching for the Dodgers in 1993
During the 1988 Major League Baseball season, pitcher Orel Hershiser of the Los Angeles Dodgers set the MLB record for consecutive scoreless innings pitched. Over 59 consecutive innings, opposing hitters did not score a run against Hershiser. During the streak, he averted numerous high-risk scoring situations. The streak spanned from the sixth inning of an August 30 game against the Montreal Expos to the 10th inning of a September 28 game against the San Diego Padres. The previous record of 58+2⁄3 innings was set by former Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale in 1968; as the team's radio announcer, Drysdale called Hershiser's streak as he pursued the new record. Pundits have described the streak as among the greatest records in baseball history, with one pundit ranking it among the greatest individual feats in American sports.
During the streak, the Elias Sports Bureau changed its criteria for the official consecutive scoreless innings record for starting pitchers from including fractional innings in which one or two outs had been recorded to counting only complete scoreless innings. Since the streak was active at the end of the 1988 season, it could have spanned two separate seasons. However, Hershiser yielded a run in his first inning of work in the 1989 season against the Cincinnati Reds, thus ending the streak at 59 consecutive scoreless innings pitched. The streak includes only innings pitched in the regular season, excluding eight scoreless innings Hershiser pitched to start Game 1 of the 1988 National League Championship Series on October 4 (unofficially extending his streak to 67 combined innings). Although he completed the ninth inning in each start, the streak's final game lasted 16 innings, of which he pitched only the first 10. Thus, Hershiser did not match Drysdale's record of six consecutive complete game shutouts. Like Drysdale's streak, the penultimate game of Hershiser's streak was a Dodgers–Giants game that featured a controversial umpire's ruling that saved the streak. (Full article...) -
The 1913 squad, the first that went by the name "Yankees"
The history of the New York Yankees Major League Baseball (MLB) team spans more than a century. Frank J. Farrell and William Stephen Devery bought the rights to an American League (AL) club in New York City after the 1902 season. The team, which became known as the Yankees in 1913, rarely contended for the AL championship before the acquisition of outfielder Babe Ruth after the 1919 season. With Ruth in the lineup, the Yankees won their first AL title in 1921, followed by their first World Series championship in 1923. Ruth and first baseman Lou Gehrig were part of the team's Murderers' Row lineup, which led the Yankees to a then-AL record 110 wins and a Series championship in 1927 under Miller Huggins. They repeated as World Series winners in 1928, and their next title came under manager Joe McCarthy in 1932.
The Yankees won the World Series every year from 1936 to 1939 with a team that featured Gehrig and outfielder Joe DiMaggio, who recorded a record hitting streak during New York's 1941 championship season. New York set a major league record by winning five consecutive championships from 1949 to 1953, and appeared in the World Series nine times from 1955 to 1964. Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford were among the players fielded by the Yankees during the era. After the 1964 season, a lack of effective replacements for aging players caused the franchise to decline on the field, and the team became a money-loser for owners CBS while playing in an aging stadium. (Full article...) -
Wii Sports is a 2006 sports simulation video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. The game was released in North America along with the Wii on 19 November 2006, and in Japan, Australia, and Europe the following month. It was included as a pack-in game with the console in all territories except Japan and Korea, making it the first sports game included with the launch of a Nintendo system since Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy in 1995. The game was later released on its own as part of the Nintendo Selects collection of games.
Wii Sports is a collection of five sports simulations designed to demonstrate the motion-sensing capabilities of the Wii Remote. The five sports included are tennis, baseball, bowling, golf, and boxing. Players use the Wii Remote to mimic actions performed in real-life sports, such as swinging a tennis racket or rolling a bowling ball. The rules for each game are simplified to make them more accessible to new players. The game also features training and fitness modes that monitor players' progress in the sports. (Full article...) -
John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890s Baltimore Orioles teams, noted for their innovative, aggressive play.
McGraw was born into poverty in Truxton, New York. He found an escape from his hometown and a bad family situation through baseball, beginning a quick rise through the minor leagues that led him to the Orioles at the age of 18. Under the tutelage of manager Ned Hanlon, the Orioles of the 1890s won three National League (NL) pennants; McGraw was one of the stalwarts of the team alongside Wee Willie Keeler, Hughie Jennings, and Wilbert Robinson. The Orioles perfected the hit and run play and popularized the Baltimore chop; they also sought to win by intimidating the opposing team and the umpire. (Full article...) -
Youngstown Ohio Works (1906), with pitcher Roy Castleton seated in second row, second from left
The Youngstown Ohio Works baseball team was a minor league club that was known for winning the premier championship of the Ohio–Pennsylvania League in 1905, and for launching the professional career of pitcher Roy Castleton a year later. A training ground for several players and officials who later established careers in Major League Baseball, the team proved a formidable regional competitor and also won the 1906 league championship.
During its brief span of activity, the Ohio Works team faced challenges that reflected common difficulties within the Ohio–Pennsylvania League, including weak financial support for teams. Following a dispute over funding, the team's owners sold the club to outside investors, just a few months before the opening of the 1907 season. (Full article...) -
Robert William Meusel (July 19, 1896 – November 28, 1977) was an American professional baseball player. A left and right fielder, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eleven seasons from 1920 through 1930, all but the last for the New York Yankees. He was best known as a member of the Yankees' championship teams of the 1920s, nicknamed "Murderers' Row", during which time the team won its first six American League (AL) pennants and first three World Series titles.
Meusel, noted for his strong outfield throwing arm, batted fifth behind Baseball Hall of Famers Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. In 1925, he became the second Yankee, after Ruth, to lead the AL in home runs (33), runs batted in (138) and extra base hits (79). Nicknamed "Long Bob" because of his 6-foot, 3 inch (1.91 m) stature, Meusel batted .313 or better in seven of his first eight seasons, finishing with a .309 career average; his 1,009 RBI during the 1920s were the fourth most by any major leaguer, and trailed only Harry Heilmann's total of 1,131 among AL right-handed hitters. Meusel ended his career in 1930 with the Cincinnati Reds. He hit for the cycle three times, and was the second of six major leaguers to accomplish this feat as many as three times during a career. (Full article...) -
James Robert "Loafer" McAleer (July 10, 1864 – April 29, 1931) was an American center fielder, manager, and stockholder in Major League Baseball who assisted in establishing the American League. He spent most of his 13-season playing career with the Cleveland Spiders, and went on to manage the Cleveland Blues, St. Louis Browns, and Washington Senators. Shortly before his retirement, he became a major shareholder in the Boston Red Sox. His career ended abruptly. During his brief tenure as co-owner of the Red Sox, McAleer quarreled with longtime friend and colleague Ban Johnson, president of the American League. In the wake of this disagreement, he sold off his shares in the Red Sox and broke off his relationship with Major League Baseball.
McAleer's rift with Johnson, along with his sudden retirement, damaged his professional reputation, and he received little recognition for his contributions to baseball. Today, he is most often remembered for initiating the customary request that the President of the United States throw out the first ball of the season. (Full article...) -
Tyler Wayne Skaggs (July 13, 1991 – July 1, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. A starting pitcher, he played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels between 2012 and 2019.
A native of Woodland Hills, California, and a graduate of Santa Monica High School, Skaggs was a supplemental first-round selection for the Angels in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. He was traded to the Diamondbacks the following year as part of an exchange for pitcher Dan Haren and rose through Arizona's farm system. After two consecutive appearances at the All-Star Futures Game in 2011 and 2012, Skaggs made his major league debut on August 22, 2012, against the Miami Marlins. He remained with the Diamondbacks through the end of the season, but was optioned to the minor leagues in 2013. (Full article...)
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General images -
The following are images from various baseball-related articles on Wikipedia.
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Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster is visible beyond the playing field. (from Baseball) -
The American Tobacco Company's line of baseball cards featured shortstop Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1909 to 1911. In 2007, the card shown here sold for $2.8 million. (from Baseball) -
2013 World Baseball Classic championship match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, March 20, 2013 (from Baseball) -
A runner sliding into home plate and scoring. (from Baseball) -
The typical motion of a right-handed pitcher (from Rules of baseball) -
The strike zone determines the result of most pitches, and varies in vertical length for each batter. (from Baseball) -
Diagram indicating the standard layout of positions (from Baseball) -
Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a barnstorming squad associated with the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs (from History of baseball) -
Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs with 868. (from History of baseball) -
An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002 (from Baseball) -
The NL champion New York Giants baseball team, 1913. Fred Merkle, sixth in line, had committed a baserunning gaffe in a crucial 1908 game that became famous as Merkle's Boner. (from History of baseball) -
Baserunners generally stand a short distance away from their base between pitches, preparing themselves to either go back or steal the next base. (from Rules of baseball) -
By the 1860s Civil War, baseball (bottom) had overtaken its fellow bat-and-ball sport cricket (top) in popularity within the United States. (from History of baseball)
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The strike zone, which determines the outcome of most pitches, varies in vertical length depending on the batter's typical height while swinging. (from Rules of baseball)
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Cy Young—the holder of many major league career marks, including wins and innings pitched, as well as losses—in 1908. MLB's annual awards for the best pitcher in each league are named for Young. (from Baseball) -
A pitcher handing off the ball after being taken out of the game during a mound meeting. (from Baseball) -
Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs. (from Baseball)
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A well-worn baseball (from Baseball) -
1906 World Series, infielders playing "in" for the expected bunt and the possible play at the plate with the bases loaded (from Rules of baseball) -
Diagram of a baseball diamond (from Rules of baseball) -
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President George W. Bush taking advice before throwing the first pitch of World Series game 3, weeks after 9/11 (from Baseball) -
A New York Yankees batter (Andruw Jones) and a Boston Red Sox catcher at Fenway Park (from Baseball) -
Baseball games sometimes end in a walk-off home run, with the batting team usually gathering at home plate to celebrate the scoring of the winning run(s). (from Rules of baseball) -
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David Ortiz, the batter, awaiting a pitch, with the catcher and umpire (from Baseball) -
A batter follows through after swinging at a pitched ball. (from Rules of baseball) -
Pesäpallo, a Finnish variation of baseball, was invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s, and after that, it has changed with the times and grown in popularity. Picture of Pesäpallo match in 1958 in Jyväskylä, Finland. (from Baseball) -
The standard fielding positions (from Rules of baseball) -
Alexander Cartwright, father of modern baseball (from History of baseball) -
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In May 2010, the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay pitched the 20th major league perfect game. That October, he pitched only the second no-hitter in MLB postseason history. (from History of baseball) -
Japanese-Americans spectating a World War II-era game while in an internment camp. America's ties to immigrants and to Japan have been deeply shaped by a shared baseball heritage. (from History of baseball) -
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Pitchers are generally substituted during mound visits (team gatherings at the pitcher's mound). (from Rules of baseball) -
Diagram of a baseball field. Diamond may refer to the square area defined by the four bases or to the entire playing field. The dimensions given are for professional and professional-style games. Children often play on smaller fields. (from Baseball)
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Rickey Henderson—the major leagues' all-time leader in runs and stolen bases—stealing third base in a 1988 game (from Baseball) -
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Cover of Official Base Ball Rules, 1921 edition, used by the American League and National League (from Rules of baseball) -
Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's Waseda University in 1921 (from Baseball) -
Pick-off attempt on runner (in red) at first base (from Rules of baseball)
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Good articles -
These are Good articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.
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Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1907 to 1928. Considered one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball, he compiled a career batting average of .345 (ninth all-time). His 792 career doubles represent an MLB career record. His 3,514 hits are fifth in the all-time hits list. Defensively, Speaker holds career records for assists, double plays, and unassisted double plays by an outfielder. He held the major league career record for putouts by a center fielder (6,592) until he was surpassed by Willie Mays in 1971. His fielding glove was known as the place "where triples go to die."
After playing in the minor leagues in Texas and Arkansas, Speaker debuted with the Boston Red Sox in 1907. He became the regular center fielder by 1909 and led the Red Sox to World Series championships in 1912 and 1915. In 1915, Speaker's batting average dropped to .322 from .338 the previous season; he was traded to the Cleveland Indians when he refused to take a pay cut. As player-manager for Cleveland, he led the team to its first World Series title. In seven of his eleven seasons with Cleveland, he finished with a batting average greater than .350. Speaker resigned as Cleveland's manager in 1926 after he and Ty Cobb faced game-fixing allegations; both men were later cleared. During his managerial stint in Cleveland, Speaker introduced the platoon system in the major leagues. (Full article...) -
Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Mays was a five-tool player who began his career in the Negro leagues, playing for the Birmingham Black Barons, and spent the rest of his career in the National League (NL), playing for the New York / San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.
Born in Westfield, Alabama, Mays was an all-around athlete. He joined the Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1948, playing with them until the Giants signed him upon his graduation from high school in 1950. He debuted in MLB with the Giants and won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951 after hitting 20 home runs to help the Giants win their first pennant in 14 years. In 1954, he won the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award, leading the Giants to their last World Series title before their move to the West Coast. His over-the-shoulder catch in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series is one of the most famous baseball plays of all time. After the Giants moved to San Francisco, Mays went on to win another MVP Award in 1965 and also led the Giants to the 1962 World Series, this time losing to the New York Yankees. He ended his career with a return to New York after an early season trade to the New York Mets in 1972, retiring after the team's trip to the 1973 World Series. He served as a coach for the Mets for the rest of the decade before rejoining the Giants as a special assistant to the president and general manager. (Full article...) -
Charles "Boss" Schmidt (September 12, 1880 – November 14, 1932) was an American professional baseball catcher for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB)
A native of Arkansas, Schmidt played professional baseball from 1901 to 1926, including six seasons in MLB with Detroit from 1906 to 1911. He was the starting catcher on the Detroit teams that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1907 to 1909. He also led the American League in errors by a catcher in each of those seasons. Schmidt had a reputation for toughness enhanced by his grotesque-looking hands, the result of work as a coal miner and prizefighter. (Full article...) -
Myron Walter Drabowsky (July 21, 1935 – June 10, 2006) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago White Sox. A noted practical joker, Drabowsky engaged in such antics as leaving snakes in teammates' lockers or phoning the opposing team's bullpen to tell a pitcher to warm up. He batted and threw right-handed.
Born in Poland, Drabowsky emigrated to America in 1938. He excelled as a pitcher in high school and college and was signed as a bonus baby by the Chicago Cubs. He debuted for the Cubs in 1956 and finished tied for second in the National League in strikeouts in his rookie season. In 1958, he gave up Stan Musial's 3,000th hit. An arm injury that year curtailed his effectiveness, and after a couple more seasons with the team, he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves. He played for the Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Kansas City Athletics in 1961 and 1962 before remaining with the Athletics through the end of the 1965 season. During this period, he was sent to the minor leagues a few times, and while in the major leagues, he typically went back and forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen, except in 1963, the year he had his lowest earned run average (ERA) as a starter. Drabowsky also was the losing pitcher to Early Wynn in Wynn's 300th win that season. Following the 1965 season, he was selected in the Rule 5 draft by the Baltimore Orioles. (Full article...) -
Robert Alexander Unglaub (July 31, 1880 – November 29, 1916) was an American first baseman, utility infielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Highlanders, Boston Americans, and Washington Senators. He batted and threw right-handed. Unglaub stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) and weighed 178 pounds (81 kg).
A Baltimore native, Unglaub was first exposed to baseball when he served as batboy and mascot for the Baltimore Orioles. He made his major league debut with the Highlanders in 1904 and was traded to Boston later that year. Though he started at first base for Boston in late 1905, he played minor league baseball in 1906 because of a salary dispute. Back with the Americans in 1907, he became their full-time first baseman and even their manager, though the latter role lasted for only 29 games. He was traded to Washington in 1908 and remained with the Senators through the 1910 season. Unglaub then played in the minor leagues for six more years before he was killed in an accident while working at Baltimore's Pennsylvania Railroad shops. (Full article...) -
Bailey Falter (born April 24, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Kansas City Royals organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Born in Chino Hills, California, Falter grew up idolizing pitcher Sandy Koufax. He attended Chino Hills High School, pitching a no-hitter for their baseball team in 2013. The Phillies selected Falter in the fifth round of the 2015 MLB draft, and he signed with the team that year. His rise through the Phillies' farm system was disrupted by an elbow injury in 2019 and the subsequent cancellation of the 2020 minor league season. Falter made his MLB debut with the Phillies in 2021, and he spent the next three seasons alternating between Philadelphia and the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, serving as both a starting pitcher and a reliever. The Pirates acquired Falter in 2023, adding him to their starting rotation. (Full article...) -
Oscar E. "Reddy" Foster (August 1864 – December 19, 1908) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player for the New York Giants in 1896. His only MLB appearance was on June 3 of that season. He primarily played catcher in his minor league career, which spanned 17 seasons. Foster was a manager as well. He was known for his fiery temper and his heavy drinking. Foster died on December 19, 1908, when he deliberately shot himself in the head with a shotgun. (Full article...) -
Lewis Bernard Krausse (June 12, 1912 – September 6, 1988) was an American pitcher and scout in Major League Baseball from Media, Pennsylvania. He pitched in parts of the 1931 and 1932 seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics. Krausse was used mostly as a relief pitcher by the Athletics, though four of his 23 appearances were starts. He compiled a lifetime record of 5–1.
A standout high school pitcher at Upper Darby High School, Krausse was signed by Philadelphia in 1931, becoming the youngest player in the American League (AL). After making three appearances in 1931, he pitched in 19 games in 1932. His final start of the season was a shutout, but a sore arm prevented Krausse from ever pitching in the major leagues again after that. He did play several more seasons of Minor League Baseball, most notably with the Elmira Pioneers, with whom he won two championships. Following his final season in 1946, he spent many years as a scout for the Philadelphia Phillies and the Athletics. His older son, Lew Jr., won 68 games in the major leagues. (Full article...) -
Jeremy David Affeldt (/ˈæfɛlt/; born June 6, 1979) is an American former professional baseball player. He pitched and batted left-handed and played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants.
Affeldt was a third-round draft pick by the Kansas City Royals in 1997 MLB draft. He made the team in 2002, and started part of the year for them. In five seasons with the Royals, Affeldt bounced back and forth between the starting rotation and the bullpen. In 2006, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies at the trade deadline, and was a member of the Rockies 2007 World Series team. After one season with the Cincinnati Reds, he signed with the San Francisco Giants in 2009, where he was a member of the 2010, 2012, and 2014 World Series championship teams. (Full article...) -
Christopher Ryan Young (born May 25, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current president of baseball operations of the Texas Rangers, serving in the team's front office since 2020. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 2000 to 2017 for the Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners and the Kansas City Royals. Young was a 2007 National League (NL) All-Star player as a member of the Padres, and was a member of the 2015 World Series winning Kansas City Royals team. After his playing career, he worked for the Major League Baseball front office before becoming the general manager of the Rangers in 2020, and promoted to his current position in November 2024.
At the age of 25, Young made his MLB debut on August 24, 2004 with the Rangers. He had previously excelled in basketball and baseball at Highland Park High School in University Park, Texas, and Princeton University. (Full article...) -
Shawn Patrick Sedlacek [sed′–la–check] (born June 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played part of one season in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily as a starting pitcher, for the Kansas City Royals in 2002. Sedlacek threw a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, a changeup, a slider, and a curveball.
Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Sedlacek attended Iowa State University, leading the team with 65 strikeouts and 77 innings pitched as a senior before getting selected by the Royals in the 1998 MLB draft. Initially expected to be a relief pitcher, he became a starting pitcher during his first season due to injuries to other starters, and he would finish among the leaders in the minor leagues he pitched in over the next few years. The Royals called him up in June 2002 following injuries to Jeremy Affeldt and Paul Byrd, and he debuted for them on June 18. Sedlacek posted a 3.05 earned run average (ERA) in his first six starts but had a 10.10 ERA in his next eight and was moved to the bullpen in September. After pitching for Kansas City's minor league affiliates in 2003, he left the Royals organization and played for two years in the minors for several other teams and also in the independent Northern League. Remaining in the Kansas City area following his retirement, he is part of Complete Game Baseball, an organization that provides baseball training and fields its own teams. (Full article...) -
Herbert Eugene Plews (June 14, 1928 – December 12, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. He played four years in the majors, from 1956 to 1959 with the Washington Senators and in 1959 for the Boston Red Sox. In the minor leagues he played for Kansas City, Binghamton, Norfolk, and Denver before reaching the majors in 1956, and Toronto, Birmingham, Hawaii, Tacoma, and Arkansas after his major league career ended. During his playing career he served in the military from 1951 to 1952, during the Korean War. Plews batted left-handed and threw right-handed; he was listed as 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and 160 pounds (73 kg).
Born in East Helena, Montana, Plews would be (at the time of his death) the only player from the Helena area to reach the major leagues. After four years at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he signed with the New York Yankees in 1950. Plews's time in the minor leagues was interrupted by his military service, but he had made it to the Denver Bears (the top affiliate of the Yankees' system) by 1955. After the season, though, he was sent to the Senators in a multi-player trade. Plews debuted with Washington in 1956 and started at second base for them over much of the next three years. Mostly a part-time player in 1959, he was traded to the Red Sox in July, appearing in just 13 more games before being sent to the minors. He played six more years of professional baseball before retiring at the end of 1965. After his baseball career, Plews worked in cement plants, first in Montana and then in the Denver area. He died in 2014. (Full article...) -
Kenneth Raymond Hunt Jr. (December 14, 1938 – January 27, 2008) was an American starting pitcher who played one full Major League Baseball season for the 1961 Cincinnati Reds. Listed at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) tall and 200 pounds (91 kg), Hunt batted and threw right-handed. He overcame control problems to reach the major leagues with the Reds in 1961, starting games for the National League champions. He won The Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award and appeared in the World Series, which the Reds lost in five games to the New York Yankees. However, his control problems resurfaced in the minor leagues after that, and he never appeared in another major league game. Following his career, he coached baseball and basketball at Morgan High School in Utah for 20 years. (Full article...)
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William Charles Virdon (June 9, 1931 – November 23, 2021) was an American professional baseball outfielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Virdon played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 through 1965 and in 1968. He served as a coach for the Pirates and Houston Astros, and managed the Pirates, Astros, New York Yankees, and Montreal Expos.
After playing in the minors for the Yankees organization, Virdon was traded to the Cardinals, and he made his MLB debut in 1955. That year, Virdon won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He slumped at the beginning of the 1956 season, and was traded to the Pirates, where he spent the remainder of his playing career. A premier defensive outfielder during his playing days as a center fielder for the Cardinals and Pirates, Virdon led a strong defensive team to the 1960 World Series championship. In 1962, Virdon won a Gold Glove Award. Following the 1965 season, he retired due to his desire to become a manager. (Full article...) -
Frederick Lee "Ted" Petoskey (January 5, 1911 – November 30, 1996) was a three-sport athlete at the University of Michigan, a Major League Baseball player, a collegiate coach in three sports and an athletic director.
At the University of Michigan, Petoskey received eight varsity letters in three sports. In American football, he was a two-time All-American end for the undefeated Michigan Wolverines football teams that won back-to-back college football national championships in 1932 and 1933. He was also a guard and captain of Michigan's basketball team in the 1933–34 season. As a baseball player in 1934, Petoskey led the Big Ten Conference with a .452 batting average. (Full article...)
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Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that Bill Duplissea has been said to have the "best eyes in baseball"?
- ... that Salty Parker, who spent 60 years in organized baseball, described his lifelong love of the game as "a beautiful disease"?
- ... that Mike Veeck's baseball promotions include Disco Demolition Night, a game with no fans, and the world's largest pillow fight?
- ... that, when baseball pitcher Jimmy Whalen was promoted to the Major Leagues, he refused to report because the team would not pay his travel expenses?
- ... that Taihi Kimura hosted the closing ceremony for a nationwide baseball tournament before starting a career in voice acting?
- ... that Jenny Cavnar is the first female primary play-by-play announcer in Major League Baseball history?
- ... that Chuck Eisenmann went from professionally pitching in baseball to owning and training the dogs that starred on the Canadian television series The Littlest Hobo?
- ... that labor lawyer Dick Moss argued the 1975 case which resulted in the establishment of free agency in Major League Baseball?
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Connie Mack holds the records for most wins (3,731) and losses (3,948) by a Major League Baseball manager.
Major League Baseball (MLB) is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball and is the organization that operates the National League and the American League. In 2000, the two leagues were officially disbanded as separate legal entities, and all of their rights and functions were consolidated in the commissioner's office. Since that time, MLB has operated as a single league. Composed of 30 teams, MLB is one of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada.
Each team in the league has a manager who is responsible for team strategy and leadership on and off the field. Assisted by various coaches, the manager sets the line-up and starting pitcher before each game and makes substitutions throughout the game. In early baseball history, it was not uncommon for players to fill multiple roles as player-managers; specifically, they managed the team while still being signed to play for the club. The last player-manager in Major League Baseball was Pete Rose, who began managing the Cincinnati Reds in 1984. (Full article...) -
Brooks Robinson won 16 Gold Gloves, leading all third basemen, and is tied for the second-highest win total in the history of the award.
The Gold Glove Award is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), as voted by the managers and coaches in each league. Managers are not permitted to vote for their own players. Eighteen Gold Gloves are awarded each year (with the exception of 1957, 1985, 2007 and 2018), one at each of the nine positions in each league. In 1957, the baseball glove manufacturer Rawlings created the Gold Glove Award to commemorate the best fielding performance at each position. The award was created from a glove made from gold lamé-tanned leather and affixed to a walnut base. Initially, only one Gold Glove per position was awarded to the top fielder at each position in the entire league; however, separate awards were given for the National and American Leagues beginning in 1958.
Brooks Robinson won 16 Gold Gloves with the Baltimore Orioles, leading both the American League and all third basemen in awards won. Mike Schmidt is tied with Nolan Arenado for second in wins at third base; Schmidt won 10 with the Philadelphia Phillies and is tied for National League third basemen in Gold Gloves. Arenado also has 10, 8 with the Rockies and 2 with the Cardinals. Scott Rolen owns the fourth-highest total, winning eight awards. Rolen won with the Phillies, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Cincinnati Reds. Six-time winners at third base are Buddy Bell, Eric Chavez, and Robin Ventura. Adrián Beltré, Ken Boyer, Matt Chapman, Doug Rader, and Ron Santo have each won five Gold Gloves at third base, and four-time winners include Gary Gaetti and Matt Williams. Hall of Famers who have won a Gold Glove at the position include Robinson, Rolen, Schmidt, Santo, Wade Boggs, and George Brett. (Full article...) -
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies compete in MLB as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. In the franchise's history, the owners and ownership syndicates of the team have employed 11 general managers (GMs) and appointed 15 team presidents. The GM controls player transactions, hiring and firing of the coaching staff, and negotiates with players and agents regarding contracts. The team president is the representative for the owner or the ownership group within the front office and is responsible for overseeing the team's staff, minor league farm system, and scouting.
The longest-tenured general manager is Paul Owens, with 11 years of service to the team in that role, from 1972 to 1983. Owens also served as the team manager in 1972, and from 1983 to 1984. After this time, he served as a team executive until 2003, and was inducted into the Philadelphia Baseball Wall of Fame in recognition of his services. The longest-tenured owner is Bob Carpenter, Jr., who was the team's primary shareholder from 1943 to 1972. He appointed the team's first general manager, Herb Pennock, during his tenure. In combination with his son, Ruly, the Carpenter family owned the Phillies for nearly 50 years (until 1981) until it was sold to Bill Giles, son of former league president Warren Giles. The Phillies are currently overseen by team president, Dave Dombrowski. (Full article...) -
Evan Longoria (2008) is the only Rays' first-round pick to win a Rookie of the Year Award with the team.
The Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball franchise based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays (formerly the Tampa Bay Devil Rays) compete in the American League East division. Since the franchise was established in 1995, the Rays have selected 36 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is Major League Baseball's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1997 expansion draft in which the Rays filled their roster.
Of the 36 players the Rays have selected in the first round, 10 have been outfielders and 12 have been drafted exclusively as pitchers. Of the 12 pitchers, eight were right-handed and four were left-handed. The Rays have also drafted five shortstops, four third basemen, two catchers, one second baseman, and one first baseman. In addition to these, one player (2017 pick Brendan McKay) was drafted as both a left-handed pitcher and a first baseman. Twenty players were drafted out of high school, 12 were drafted out of four-year colleges, and one was drafted from a junior college. Two players were drafted from Rice University in Houston, Texas in consecutive years. (Full article...) -
In baseball, a hit is credited to a batter when he reaches first base – or any subsequent base – safely after hitting a fair ball, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice. One hundred nineteen different players have recorded at least six hits in a single nine-inning Major League Baseball game. Five players have accomplished the feat more than once in their career; no player has ever recorded more than seven hits in a nine-inning game. Davy Force was the first player to collect six hits in a single game, doing so for the Philadelphia Athletics against the Chicago White Stockings on June 27, 1876.
These games have resulted in other single-game MLB records being set in connection with the prodigious offensive performance. Shawn Green, for example, established a new major league record with 19 total bases and finished with a total of five extra-base hits, tying a National League record that was also achieved by Larry Twitchell during the latter's six-hit game. Four of Green's six hits were home runs, equaling the record for most home runs in one game. Jim Bottomley, Walker Cooper, Anthony Rendon, and Wilbert Robinson hit 10 or more runs batted in (RBI) to complement their six hits. Robinson proceeded to collect a seventh hit and an eleventh RBI to set single-game records in both categories. Although his record of 11 RBIs has since been broken, Robinson's seven hits in a nine-inning game has been matched only by Rennie Stennett. (Full article...) -
Willie Mays is tied with Roberto Clemente for the most Gold Gloves won by an outfielder, with 12 awards each.
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), as voted by the managers and coaches in each league. Managers are not permitted to vote for their own players. Twenty-two Gold Gloves are awarded each year (with the exception of 1957, 1985, 2007 and 2018), one at each of the nine positions, one for a utility player, and one for a team as a whole, in each respective league. In 1957, the baseball glove manufacturer Rawlings created the Gold Glove Award to commemorate the best fielding performance at each position. The award was created from a glove made from gold lamé-tanned leather and affixed to a walnut base. Initially, only one Gold Glove per position was awarded to the top fielder at each position in the entire major league; however, separate awards were given for the National and American Leagues beginning in 1958.
The phrase "at each position" was not strictly accurate until 2011, when the awards were changed to specify individual awards for left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. Previously, the prize was presented to three outfielders irrespective of their specific position. Any combination of outfielders, often three center fielders, could win the award in the same year. Critics called for awarding a single Gold Glove for each individual outfield position, arguing that the three outfield positions are not equivalent defensively. In the 1985 American League voting, a tie for third-place resulted in the presentation of Gold Glove Awards to four outfielders (Dwayne Murphy, Gary Pettis, Dwight Evans and Dave Winfield); this scenario was repeated in the National League in 2007 (Andruw Jones, Carlos Beltrán, Aaron Rowand, and Jeff Francoeur). Father and son Bobby and Barry Bonds are the only family pair who have won Gold Glove Awards as outfielders. (Full article...) -
John Lackey was the Angels' Opening Day starting pitcher in 2003 and 2007.
The Los Angeles Angels are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Anaheim, California. They play in the American League West division. The franchise has also gone by the names "Los Angeles Angels", "California Angels" and "Anaheim Angels" at various points in its history. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. The Angels have used 25 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 51 seasons. The 25 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 26 wins, 18 losses and 7 no decisions. No decisions are awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game. It can also result if a starting pitcher does not pitch five full innings, even if his team retains the lead and wins.
Jered Weaver has the most Opening Day starts for the Angels, with seven, and had 6 consecutive opening day starts from 2010 to 2015. He has a record of three wins and two losses, with one no decision in those starts that resulted in a win. Mike Witt has the second most starts, with five, with one win, three losses, and one no decision that resulted in a loss. Frank Tanana, Mark Langston and Chuck Finley have all made four Opening Day starts for the Angels. Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, Bartolo Colón and Jered Weaver have each made three such starts for the Angels. (Full article...) -
The Yankees have played home games in the current Yankee Stadium since 2009.
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the Bronx, a borough of New York City. Also known as "the Bronx Bombers" and "the Pinstripers", the Yankees play in the East Division of Major League Baseball's (MLB) American League (AL). In its 123 MLB seasons, the franchise has won 27 World Series championships, the most of any MLB team and 16 more than the second-place St. Louis Cardinals. The Yankees played home games in Yankee Stadium from 1923 to 2008, except for a stint at Shea Stadium from 1974 to 1975 while Yankee Stadium was undergoing renovations. In 2009, the team moved into a new ballpark, which is also called Yankee Stadium.
The Baltimore Orioles began play in the AL in 1901. After two seasons, the Orioles were replaced by a club in New York; it is unclear whether it was an expansion team or a relocated version of the Orioles. Frank Farrell and William S. Devery purchased the franchise, naming it the New York Highlanders. In 1913, the team changed its name to the Yankees. From 1921 to 1964, the Yankees were the most successful MLB franchise, winning 20 World Series titles and 29 AL pennants. This period included streaks of four consecutive championships from 1936 to 1939 and five straight titles from 1949 to 1953. (Full article...) -
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award that is presented to the most outstanding player in each year's MLB All-Star Game. Awarded each season since 1962 (two games were held and an award was presented to each game winner in 1962), it was originally called the Arch Ward Memorial Award in honor of Arch Ward, who conceived of the All-Star Game in 1933. The award's name was changed to the Commissioner's Trophy in 1970, but this name change was reversed in 1985 when the World Series Trophy was renamed the Commissioner's Trophy. Finally, the trophy was renamed the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award in 2002, honoring former Boston Red Sox player Ted Williams, who died earlier that year. No award was presented for the 2002 All-Star Game, which ended in a tie. Thus, the Anaheim Angels' Garret Anderson was the first recipient of the re-named Ted Williams Award in 2003. The award winner receives a glass bat engraved with their name and, due to an advertising agreement, a Chevrolet car or truck. Currently, the winner is chosen based on a vote, with 80 percent coming from writers and broadcasters on-site at the game and 20 percent from an online fan vote.
As of 2025[update], NL players have won the award 30 times (including one award shared by two players), and American League (AL) players have won 34 times. Baltimore Orioles players have won the most awards for a single franchise (with six); players from the Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are tied for the most in the NL with five each. Five players have won the award twice: Willie Mays (1963, 1968), Steve Garvey (1974, 1978), Gary Carter (1981, 1984), Cal Ripken Jr. (1991, 2001), and Mike Trout (2014, 2015, the only player to win the award in back-to-back years). The award has been shared by multiple players once; Bill Madlock and Jon Matlack shared the award in 1975. Two players have won the award for a game in which their league lost: Brooks Robinson in 1966 and Carl Yastrzemski in 1970. One pair of awardees were father and son (Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Griffey Jr.), and another were brothers (Roberto Alomar and Sandy Alomar Jr.). Three players have won the MVP award at a game played in their home ballpark (Sandy Alomar Jr. in 1997, Pedro Martínez in 1999, and Shane Bieber in 2019). Derek Jeter is the only player to win the All-Star Game MVP and World Series MVP in the same season, doing so in 2000. (Full article...) -
Dennis McLain, 1968 American League wins leader, with 31; this was the last time a pitcher has won thirty.
Major League Baseball recognizes the player or players in each league[a] with the most wins each season.[b] In baseball, wins are a statistic used to evaluate pitchers. Credit for a win is given by the official scorer to the pitcher whose team takes and maintains the lead while he is the pitcher of record. If a game is tied or if the lead changes to the other team, all pitchers who have participated and exited the game to that point are unable to receive credit for the victory. A starting pitcher is ineligible for the win unless he pitches at least five innings; if he doesn't, but nevertheless leaves his team with a lead that it never relinquishes (a rather uncommon combination), the scorer awards the victory to the relief pitcher who was "most effective... in the official scorer's judgment". (Full article...) -
Walter Johnson holds the record with 12 different seasons that he was a strikeout leader, including 8 consecutive from 1912 through 1919. Johnson was one of the five charter members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In baseball, the strikeout is a statistic used to evaluate pitchers. A pitcher earns a strikeout when he puts out the batter he is facing by throwing a ball through the strike zone, "defined as that area over homeplate (sic) the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap", which is not put in play. Strikeouts are awarded in four situations: if the batter is put out on a third strike caught by the catcher (to "strike out swinging" or "strike out looking"); if the pitcher throws a third strike which is not caught with fewer than two outs; if the batter becomes a baserunner on an uncaught third strike; or if the batter bunts the ball into foul territory with two strikes.
Major League Baseball recognizes the player or players in each league[a] with the most strikeouts each season. Jim Devlin led the National League in its inaugural season of 1876; he threw 122 strikeouts for the Louisville Grays. The American League's first winner was Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who captured the American League Triple Crown in 1901 by striking out 158 batters, along with leading the league in wins and earned run average. Walter Johnson led the American League in strikeouts twelve times during his Hall of Fame career, most among all players. He is followed by Nolan Ryan, who captured eleven titles between both leagues (nine in the American League and two in the National League). Randy Johnson won nine strikeout titles, five coming with the Arizona Diamondbacks. Three players have won seven strikeout championships: Dazzy Vance, who leads the National League; Bob Feller; and Lefty Grove. Grover Cleveland Alexander and Rube Waddell led their league six times, and five-time winners include Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens, Sam McDowell, Christy Mathewson, Amos Rusie, and Tom Seaver. (Full article...) -
In baseball, a home run is credited to a batter when they hit a fair ball and reach home safely on the same play, without the benefit of an error. 144 players have hit a home run in their first at bat of a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, the most recent being Eduardo Valencia of the Detroit Tigers on July 9, 2026. George Tebeau and Mike Griffin both hit home runs in their first at bats on April 16, 1887. These players are recognized together as the first player to homer in his first major league at bat because it is unknown which one hit first.
Luke Stuart, Walter Mueller, and Johnnie LeMaster hit inside-the-park home runs in their first at bats. Bill Duggleby, Jeremy Hermida, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Daniel Nava hit grand slams in their first at bats—Kouzmanoff and Nava doing so on the first pitch. Ernie Koy and Heinie Mueller were the first players to accomplish the feat in the same game, doing so for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively, in the first inning of Opening Day in 1938. This was equalled in 2016 by Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge, who became the only players to achieve the feat as teammates (playing for the New York Yankees) and in back-to-back at bats. Two players, Bob Nieman and Keith McDonald, each homered in their second at bat also (with Nieman hitting both within the same game). Paul Gillespie and John Miller are the only players to hit home runs in both their first and last major league at bats; for Miller these were the only two home runs of his MLB career. For 25 players, their first at bat home run was the only home run of their major league careers. (Full article...) -
In 2019, Mike Trout signed a 12-year, $426 million contract with the Angels, the richest contract in the history of North American sports at the time.
Major League Baseball (MLB) does not have a hard salary cap, instead employing a luxury tax that applies to teams whose total payroll exceeds certain set thresholds for a given season. Free agency did not exist in MLB prior to the end of the reserve clause in the 1970s, allowing owners before that time to wholly dictate the terms of player negotiations and resulting in significantly lower salaries.
Babe Ruth, widely regarded as one of the greatest baseball players ever, earned an estimated $856,850 ($20,621,950 inflation-adjusted from 1934 dollars) over his entire playing career. When asked whether he thought he deserved to earn $80,000 a year ($1,541,833 inflation-adjusted), while the president, Herbert Hoover, had a $75,000 salary, Ruth famously remarked, "What the hell has Hoover got to do with it? Besides, I had a better year than he did." (Full article...) -
In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The award was established in 1940 by the Chicago chapter of the BBWAA, which selected an annual winner from 1940 through 1946. The award became national in 1947; Jackie Robinson, the Brooklyn Dodgers' second baseman, won the inaugural award. One award was presented for all of MLB in 1947 and 1948; since 1949, the honor has been given to one player each in the NL and AL. Originally, the award was known as the J. Louis Comiskey Memorial Award, named after the Chicago White Sox owner of the 1930s. The award was renamed the Jackie Robinson Award in July 1987, 40 years after Robinson broke the baseball color line.
Twenty-one players have been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame—Robinson, seven AL players, and eleven others from the NL. The award has been shared twice: once by Butch Metzger and Pat Zachry of the NL in 1976; and once by John Castino and Alfredo Griffin of the AL in 1979. Members of the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers have won the most awards of any franchise (with 18). Fred Lynn and Ichiro Suzuki are the only two players who have been named Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in the same year, and Fernando Valenzuela is the only player to have won Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in the same year. Sam Jethroe is the oldest player to have won the award, at age 32, 33 days older than 2000 winner Kazuhiro Sasaki (also 32). Nick Kurtz of the Athletics and Drake Baldwin of the Atlanta Braves are the most recent winners. (Full article...) -
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders have played at PNC Field, formerly Lackawanna County Stadium, since 1989.
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders are a Minor League Baseball team that plays in the Scranton–Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area of Pennsylvania. Founded as members of the Triple-A classification International League (IL) in 1989, the team was known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons during their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliation with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1989 to 2006. They became known as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees in 2007 after affiliating with the New York Yankees, rebranding as the RailRiders in 2013 while maintaining their affiliation with New York. In conjunction with the 2021 restructuring of the minor leagues, the RailRiders were placed in the new Triple-A East (AAAE) in 2021, but this league was renamed the International League in 2022.
The team has played 5,146 regular-season games and compiled a win–loss record of 2,752–2,394, resulting in a winning percentage of .535. The RailRiders' best regular-season record occurred in 2016 when they finished 91–53 (.636). Conversely, their worst record was 62–80 (.437), which they recorded in both 1993 and 1994.
The RailRiders have won two International League championships (2008 and 2016) and one Triple-A championship (2016). They have also claimed thirteen division titles, including five consecutive division championships from 2006 to 2010, three wild card playoff berths as well as a half-season title (2025). The RailRiders experienced a difficult start, making only one postseason appearance in their first ten seasons—an IL championship series berth in 1992—which was also their only winning season during that span. However, under manager Dave Miley (2007–2015), the team enjoyed a sustained period of success, reaching the postseason four straight times and winning seven division titles. Miley also guided them to two IL championship series, winning in 2008 and finishing as the runner-up in 2009. (Full article...)
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- ... that professional baseball player Bill Bagwell led three different leagues in batting average?
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- ... that Josh Bell received a US$5 million signing bonus, a record for a player chosen in the second round of the Major League Baseball Draft?
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The Norfolk Tides, a Farm team for the Baltimore Orioles, take on the Columbus Clippers at Harbor Park
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