1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Season
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1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays Season
The 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season was the first season in franchise history. This season, they finished last in the AL East division and finished the season with a record of 63–99, 51 games behind the World Champion New York Yankees. Their manager was Larry Rothschild. Miguel Cairo was the last active player remaining from the Opening Day roster, until retiring after the 2012 season. Offseason *March 11, 1997: Luis Polonia was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. *May 10, 1997: Pete Laforest was signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. *June 3, 1997: Jason Standridge was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1st round (31st pick) of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed June 6, 1997. *June 3, 1997: Kenny Kelly was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 2nd round of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed June 12, 1997. *November 11, 1997: Mike Kelly was traded by the Cincinnati Reds to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for a player to be named lat ...
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American League East
The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before the start of the season along with the American League West division. Before that time, each league consisted of 10 teams without any divisions. Four of the division's five teams are located in the Eastern United States, with the other team, the Toronto Blue Jays, in Eastern Canada. It is currently the only division that contains a non-American team. At the end of the MLB season, the team with the best record in the division earns one of the AL's six Major League Baseball postseason, playoff spots. The most recent team to win this division was the New York Yankees in . History Baseball writers have long posited that the American League East is the toughest division in MLB; during its 50-year existence, an AL East team has gone on to pla ...
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Miguel Cairo
Miguel Jesús Cairo i'-row(born May 4, 1974), is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder and most recently the bench coach for the Chicago White Sox, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine different clubs in a 17-year career, spanning from 1996 to 2012. During his playing days, Cairo stood tall and weighed while batting and throwing right-handed. While primarily a second baseman, Cairo was able to play all the infield positions and as a corner outfielder. He was also used for pinch-hitting duties late in his career. He was acting manager for the White Sox in the latter part of the 2022 season as manager Tony La Russa stepped away due to health concerns. Playing career Los Angeles Dodgers (1990–1995) Cairo was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 20, 1990. After beginning his career with the Dodgers Dominican Summer League team, he played with the rookie class Gulf Coast Dodgers (1992), Class-A Vero Beach Dodgers ...
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Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located on Chicago's North Side. The Cubs are one of two major league teams based in Chicago; the other, the Chicago White Sox, is a member of the American League (AL) Central division. The Cubs, first known as the White Stockings, were a founding member of the NL in 1876, becoming the Chicago Cubs in 1903. Throughout the club's history, the Cubs have played in a total of 11 World Series. The 1906 Cubs won 116 games, finishing 116–36 and posting a modern-era record winning percentage of , before losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox ("The Hitless Wonders") by four games to two. The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first major league team to play in three consecutive World Series, an ...
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Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after spending their first 51 seasons in the National League (NL). The Astros were established as the Houston Colt .45s and entered the National League as an expansion team in along with the New York Mets. The current name, reflecting Houston's role as the host of the Johnson Space Center, was adopted three years later, when they moved into the Astrodome, the first domed sports stadium and the so-called "Eighth Wonder of the World." The Astros moved to a new stadium called Minute Maid Park in 2000. The Astros played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993, then the NL Central division from 1994 to 2012, before being moved to the AL West as part of a MLB realignment in 2013. The Astros posted their first winning record in 1972 and made the ...
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Bobby Abreu
Bob Kelly Abreu (; ; born March 11, 1974), nicknamed "El Comedulce" and also "La Leche", is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Mets. Abreu is a two-time Major League Baseball All-Star Game, All-Star, and has won a Rawlings Gold Glove Award and a Silver Slugger Award. He has been a single-season league leader in games played (twice), Double (baseball), doubles, and Triple (baseball), triples. He had two seasons in which he collected thirty home runs and thirty stolen bases, making him one of thirteen players to have achieved the 30–30 club twice in a career. Through 2014, Abreu led active ballplayers in doubles (565), Base on balls, walks (1,456), and Outfielder, outfield Assist (baseball), assists (136), was fifth in Run (baseball), runs scored (1,441) and st ...
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Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Field, which is located in the Lower Downtown area of Denver. It is owned by the Monfort brothers and managed by Bud Black. The Rockies began as an expansion team for the 1993 season and played their home games for their first two seasons at Mile High Stadium. Since 1995, they have played at Coors Field, which has earned a reputation as a hitter's park. The Rockies have qualified for the postseason five times, each time as a Wild Card winner. In 2007, the team earned its first (and only) NL pennant after winning 14 of their final 15 games in the regular season to secure a Wild Card position, capping the streak off with a 13-inning 9-8 victory against the San Diego Padres in the tiebreaker game affectionately known as "Game 163" by Rocki ...
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Outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch fly balls and ground balls then to return them to the infield for the out or before the runner advances, if there are any runners on the bases. As an outfielder, they normally play behind the six players located in the field. By convention, each of the nine defensive positions in baseball is numbered. The outfield positions are 7 (left field), 8 (center field) and 9 (right field). These numbers are shorthand designations useful in baseball scorekeeping and are not necessarily the same as the squad numbers worn on player uniforms. Outfielders named to the MLB All-Century Team are Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Pete Rose, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Ken Griffey Jr. Strategy Players can ...
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Quinton McCracken
Quinton Antoine McCracken (born August 16, 1970) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played all or parts of 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), and was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays franchise's first center fielder and batter on March 31, 1998. High school years McCracken attended South Brunswick High School and was the starting running back and the free safety in football, the starting point guard in basketball, in addition to being a baseball star and a track standout. As a senior in 1988 he led his baseball team to a 29-0 record and the state Championship. ''USA Today'' rated the team the fifth-best in the nation that year. Professional career After graduating from Duke University. McCracken was selected by the Colorado Rockies in their inaugural draft in 1992 in the 25th round. He made his major league debut as a September call up on September 17, 1995; in three games, he struck out in his only at bat. In 1996, he played mostly center field, batt ...
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Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franchise began play as an expansion team in the 1993 season as the Florida Marlins. The Marlins originally played home games at Joe Robbie Stadium, which they shared with the National Football League (NFL)'s Miami Dolphins. In 2012, the team moved to LoanDepot Park (then known as Marlins Park), their first exclusive home and the first to be designed as a baseball park. As part of an agreement with park owner Miami-Dade County to use the stadium, the franchise also changed their name to the Miami Marlins prior to the 2012 season. The Marlins have qualified for the postseason only three times, but won the World Series during their first two runs in 1997 and 2003. All three of their playoff appearances came as wild card teams, making them on ...
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Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum. There are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and the closer. Traditionally, the pitcher also bats. Starting in 1973 with the American League(and later the National League) and spreading to further leagues throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the hitting duties of the pitcher have generally been given over to the position of designated hitter, a cause of some controversy. The Japanese Central Le ...
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Tony Saunders
Anthony Scott Saunders (born April 29, 1974) is a retired American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1997 to 1999. He was the first player selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1997 MLB expansion draft. Listed at and during his career, he threw and batted left-handed. His career ended prematurely, due to injury. Career Saunders initially signed with the Florida Marlins' minor league system in 1992, a year before their expansion season. He required reconstructive surgery on his elbow in 1994. Florida Marlins Saunders joined the Marlins' opening day roster in 1997, and despite a knee injury which cost him seven weeks in the middle of the season finished with a 4–6 record in 22 starts, with his first three wins coming against the Atlanta Braves. The Marlins earned a wild card berth in the 1997 playoffs, and after being left off the Division Series roster, Saunders was placed on the LCS roster against the Braves. He started Game 3 ...
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