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2011 Cincinnati Reds Season
The 2011 Cincinnati Reds season was the 142nd season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, and their 9th at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The team attempted to return to the postseason for the second consecutive year following their NL Central division championship in 2010. Dusty Baker returned for his fourth year managing the Reds and his eighteenth season managed overall. Offseason The Reds off-season began with fans calling for a full-time power-hitting left-handed left fielder; a leadoff hitter; and a strong offensive shortstop as many were unhappy with the weak bat of Paul Janish. The Reds exercised the options of Jonny Gomes, while declining the options of Aaron Harang and Orlando Cabrera. They also exercised the option on Bronson Arroyo, but later signed him to a 3-year, $35 Million extension through 2013. They also extended 23-year-old right-fielder Jay Bruce for 6 yrs./ $51M. They resigned catcher Ramón Hernández, who will again team up with Ryan Hanigan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National League Central
The National League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was created in 1994, by moving two teams from the National League West (the Cincinnati Reds and the Houston Astros) and three teams from the National League East (the Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the St. Louis Cardinals). When the division was created in 1994, the Pirates were originally supposed to stay in the East while the Atlanta Braves were to be moved to the Central from the West. However, the Braves, wanting to form a natural rivalry with the expansion Florida Marlins, requested to remain in the East. Despite the Marlins offering to go to the Central, the Pirates instead gave up their spot in the East to the Braves. Since then, the Pirates have tried several times unsuccessfully to be placed back in the East. In 1998, the NL Central became the largest division in Major League Baseball when the Milwaukee Brewers were moved in from the American League Central. In 2013, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. The NL and AL were formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively. Beginning in 1903, the two leagues signed the National Agreement and cooperated but remained legally separate entities until 2000, when they merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball. MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. It is also included as one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. Baseball's first all-professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was founded in 1869. Before that, some teams had secretly paid certain players. The first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dontrelle Willis
Dontrelle Wayne Willis (born January 12, 1982), nicknamed "The D-Train", is an American former left-handed professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball for the Florida Marlins, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Reds. Willis was notable for his success during his first few years in the major leagues and for his unconventional pitching style, which included a high leg kick and exaggerated twisting away from the batter. He was named the 2003 National League Rookie of the Year. Willis joined the television broadcast team of the Los Angeles Dodgers in May 2022. He is also a regular studio and game analyst for Fox Sports 1. Early life Willis was raised by his mother, Joyce, a welder, in Alameda, California. She played in elite-level softball leagues when Willis was a child. Willis never knew his father, Clinton Ostah, who was a minor league player in the 1970s. Growing up, Willis rooted for the Oakland Athletics as a child. Willis' favorite play ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jeremy Hermida
Jeremy Ryan Hermida (born January 30, 1984) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Oakland Athletics, Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. Major League career Early career After graduating from Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia, Hermida was the Marlins' No. 1 draft pick (11th overall) in the 2002 Major League Baseball draft, signed by Marlin scout, Joel Smith. He was one of the highest-rated minor league players that season, Hermida was a rising star in minor league baseball before being brought up. The Marlins were not looking for him to make a significant contribution the way Miguel Cabrera did when he was brought up from Double-A in June 2003, but Hermida has been compared to Braves' rookie Jeff Francoeur ever since the two were 14 years old growing up in the Atlanta area. Although th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Barton
Brian Deon Barton (born April 25, 1982) is an American former professional outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves. Early life Barton attended Westchester High School in his hometown of Los Angeles. During his freshman year in 1997, Barton hit .407 and was the team's MVP and batting champion. In 1998, he batted .320 and led his team to the conference title. Barton led his team to the conference title again during his junior year in 1999, while batting .408 with 4 home runs and was an All-Conference Second-Team pick. In his last season at Westchester, Barton had his best season. He was once again named the team's MVP and batting champion while hitting .500 with 9 home runs, 47 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. He was also an All-City First-Team pick and was selected the All-Star Conference MVP. Above all of that, Barton's team won the conference championship. Following his senior season, Barton entered the Major League Baseb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devin Mesoraco
Devin Douglas Mesoraco (born June 19, 1988) is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball catcher, who is the current catching coach for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets. Mesoraco was an MLB All-Star in 2014, but saw his career derailed due to multiple injuries. Early life Mesoraco was born on June 19, 1988, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the son of Laura and Doug Mesoraco. Mesoraco attended Punxsutawney Area High School in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, where he was a catcher for the Chucks baseball team. He set school records in walks, runs, hits, doubles, home runs and stolen bases. Before his senior year, he committed to play college baseball at the University of Virginia. He was named the 2007 Pennsylvania Gatorade Player of the Year. In that same year, he helped the Chucks win the PIAA Class AAA State Championship played at Peoples Natural Gas Field, home of the Altoona Curve. P ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ryan Hanigan
Ryan Michael Hanigan (born August 16, 1980) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, and Colorado Rockies. After graduating from Andover High School in 1999, Hanigan attended Rollins College, where he signed as an undrafted free agent with the Cincinnati Reds. He then spent the 2002 to 2006 seasons with Reds minor league baseball teams, including the Dayton Dragons and Louisville Bats. He made his MLB debut in 2007. While with the Reds he caught two no hitters, both thrown by Homer Bailey. Early life Hanigan was born in Washington, D.C., to Mike and Helen Hanigan. He has an older sister named Hayley. He played American Legion Baseball for American Legion Post 8 in Andover. At Andover High School, Hanigan was a three-year varsity starter, and was named an ''Eagle-Tribune'' and Eastern Massachusetts All-Star during his senior season, in which he hit .397. From 1997 to 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ramón Hernández
Ramón José Hernández Marin (; born May 20, 1976) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Oakland Athletics (1999–2003), San Diego Padres (2004–2005), Baltimore Orioles (2006–2008), Cincinnati Reds (2009–2011), Colorado Rockies (2012) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2013). Career Oakland Athletics Hernández made his debut with Oakland on June 29, 1999 as a backup catcher for A. J. Hinch. His steady progress enabled the Athletics to trade Hinch to the Kansas City Royals a year later. With experience, Hernández became known as a catcher who could solidly hit, mentor young pitchers and had steady defense. He earned praise for his defense and game-calling skills with a powerful pitching staff that included Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito, Mark Mulder and Tim Hudson. In 2003, Hernández broke out with his best season, hitting .273 with 21 home runs and 78 RBI and made his first All-Star Game. His most memorable ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jay Bruce
Jay Allen Bruce (born April 3, 1987) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Cleveland Indians, Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees. The Reds drafted Bruce in the first round, 12th overall pick, of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft; he made his MLB debut in . Bruce was named an All-Star three times during his career, and won the Silver Slugger Award twice. Early life Bruce was born in Beaumont, Texas, on April 3, 1987, the youngest of three children of Joe, a plumber, and Martha Bruce, a special education schoolteacher. His older sisters are Amy and Kellan, who is mentally disabled. As a child, Bruce played both baseball and football, but he stopped playing the latter when, due to the risk of him being injured, Martha refused to sign the necessary consent forms. His mom said: " ootballwas just so rough and kids got hurt. When it came time for him to mov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bronson Arroyo
Bronson Anthony Arroyo (born February 24, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and musician. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates between 2000 and 2002, the Boston Red Sox from 2003 to 2005, the Cincinnati Reds from 2006 to 2013, the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014, and the Reds again in 2017. Early life Arroyo was born February 24, 1977, in Key West, Florida, to parents Gus and Julie. Arroyo's father is originally from Cuba. Arroyo later moved from Key West, Florida, to Brooksville, Florida, where he attended Hernando High School. At Hernando, he was named to the Class 4A all-state first team in 1995. At 13 years old, Arroyo was PONY teammates with A. J. Pierzynski. As of 2004, Arroyo was third all-time in scoring for Hernando's basketball team. He signed a letter of intent to play college baseball as a pitcher at South Florida, turning down offers from Georgia Tech and Georgia Southern. Career Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orlando Cabrera
Orlando Luis Cabrera Ramírez, 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 also 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. He announced his retirement before the 2012 season. Baseball career Montreal Expos (1997–2004) Cabrera signed with the Expos as a non-drafted free agent in 1993. He made his major league debut on September 3, 1997 against the Boston Red Sox, entering as a defensive replacement for Mark Grudzielanek at shortstop and finishing the game 0-for-2. Cabrera recorded his first major league hit, a single, off New York Mets pitcher Rick Reed on September 11. On July 18, 199 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
