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Ace (baseball)
In baseball, an ace is a starting pitcher considered the best pitcher on a team and nearly always the first pitcher in the team's starting rotation. Barring injury or exceptional circumstances, an ace typically starts on Opening Day. In addition, aces are usually preferred to start crucial playoff games, sometimes on three days' rest. The term may be a derivation of the nickname of Asa Brainard (real first name: "Asahel"), a 19th-century star pitcher, who was sometimes referred to as "Ace". In the early days of baseball, the term ''ace'' was used to refer to a run. Modern baseball analysts and fans have started using the term ''ace'' to refer to the elite pitchers in the game, not necessarily to the best starting pitcher on each team. For example, the April 27, 1981, ''Sports Illustrated'' cover was captioned "The Amazing A's and Their Five Aces" to describe the starting rotation R rabbit ears :Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball
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 generally 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' advance 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 principal objective of the batting team is to have a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starting Pitcher
In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pitchers are expected to pitch for a significant portion of the game, although their ability to do this depends on many factors, including effectiveness, stamina, health, and strategy. A starting pitcher in professional baseball usually rests three, four, or five days after pitching a game before pitching in another. Therefore, most professional baseball teams have four, five or six starting pitchers on their rosters. These pitchers, and the sequence in which they pitch, is known as the ''rotation''. A team's best starter is known as the ace, and is almost always the first man to pitch in the rotation. In modern baseball, a five-man rotation is most common. In contrast, a pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starting Rotation
R rabbit ears :Indicates a participant in the game who hears things perhaps too well for their own good. A player who becomes nervous or chokes when opposing players or fans yell at or razz them is said to have rabbit ears. Also, an umpire who picks up on every complaint hurled at them from the dugouts is described this way. rag arm :A player, typically a pitcher, with a weak arm. "I hope the Cubs did not give up an actual Major League player for this rag-arm home-run machine." railroad :To run into and knock over the catcher when running home from third base, or to run into a first-baseman when running from home to first. In either case, neither the catcher nor the first baseman may be able to duck out of the way because he must play the ball and stay in position in order to make an out. rain delay :Rain ''delay'' refers to situations when a game starts late due to rain or is temporarily suspended due to rain. A game that is suspended after it has begun may be resum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years it has occasionally fallen in the last week of March. In Nippon Professional Baseball, this day typically falls during the last week of March. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book titled, ''Why Time Begins on Opening Day''. Many feel that the occasion is a moment to forget last season, in that all teams begin anew with records. Pre-season exhibition games are usually played in the month before Opening Day, during spring training. A home opener is a team's first game of the season on their home field. Equivalents to Opening Day occur throughout the sport, including minor leagues, college baseball, high school, and youth leagues. Because MLB generally begins its season earli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Playoff
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be either a single game, a series of games, or a tournament, and may use a single-elimination system or one of several other different playoff formats. Playoff, in regard to international fixtures, is to qualify or progress to the next round of a competition or tournament. In team sports in the U.S. and Canada, the vast distances and consequent burdens on cross-country travel have led to regional divisions of teams. Generally, during the regular season, teams play more games in their division than outside it, but the league's best teams might not play against each other in the regular season. Therefore, in the postseason a playoff series is organized. Any group-winning team is eligible to participate, and as playoffs became more popular they were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asa Brainard
Asahel "Asa" Brainard (1841 – December 29, 1888), nicknamed "Count", was the ace pitcher of the original Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first fully professional baseball team, after having pitched for the Excelsior club of Brooklyn, New York. Early career Born 1841 in Albany, New York, Brainard played outfield and second base for the mighty Excelsiors of Brooklyn in 1860. Led by the sensational teenage fast pitcher, Jim Creighton, the team toured New York state from Albany to Buffalo, a major event in the base ball boom. The Civil War curtailed that; after playing 21 matches in 1860, the Excelsiors played none in 1861 and only a few in 1862. Following Creighton's premature death, Brainard succeeded him as the regular pitcher and remained in that role for four seasons. The Excelsiors played a heavy schedule again in 1866, the first full peacetime season, winning 13 of 20 games—a strong team but no longer a threat to the strongest. Young Candy Cummings, one inventor of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured. A player may score by hitting a home run or by any combination of plays that puts him safely "on base" (that is, on first, second, or third) as a runner and subsequently brings him home. Once a player has scored a run, they may not attempt to score another run until their next turn to bat. The object of the game is for a team to score more runs than its opponent. The Official Baseball Rules hold that if the third out of an inning is a force out of a runner advancing to any base then, even if another baserunner crosses home plate before that force out is made, his run does not count. However, if the third out is not a force out, but a tag out, then if that other baserunner crosses home plate before that tag out is made, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice. It is also known for its annual swimsuit issue, which has been published since 1964, and has spawned other complementary media works and products. Owned until 2018 by Time Inc., it was sold to Authentic Brands Group (ABG) following the sale of Time Inc. to Meredith Corporation. The Arena Group (formerly theMaven, Inc.) was subsequently awarded a 10-year license to operate the ''Sports Illustrated''-branded editorial operations, while ABG licenses the brand for other non-editorial ventures and products. History Establishment There were two magazines named ''Sports Illustrated'' before the current magazine was launched on August 9, 1954. In 1936, Stuart Scheftel created ''Sports Illustrated'' with a target market of sportsmen. He publis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1981 Oakland Athletics Season
The Oakland Athletics' 1981 season saw the A's finish with an overall record of 64 wins and 45 losses. They finished the season with the best record in the American League (and second best in all of baseball). Due to the infamous 1981 players strike, the league resorted to a split-season format; this new format saw the winners of both halves of the season playing in the first divisional playoff in MLB history. The A's qualified by posting the AL West's best record in the first half of the season. While they swept the Kansas City Royals in the AL West playoff, they were themselves swept by the New York Yankees in the 1981 American League Championship Series. The Athletics' 1981 season ranks among the organization's most interesting. The A's, only two years removed from a disastrous 54-108 finish, won their first AL West crown since 1975 under second-year manager Billy Martin. The "Billyball" A's began the season with a then-AL record 11 consecutive wins (this record was later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercury News
''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiary of Digital First Media. , it was the fifth largest daily newspaper in the United States, with a daily circulation of 611,194. , the paper has a circulation of 324,500 daily and 415,200 on Sundays. As of 2021, this further declined. The Bay Area News Group no longer reports its circulation, but rather "readership". For 2021, they reported a "readership" of 312,700 adults daily. First published in 1851, the ''Mercury News'' is the last remaining English-language daily newspaper covering the Santa Clara Valley. It became the ''Mercury News'' in 1983 after a series of mergers. During much of the 20th century, it was owned by Knight Ridder. Because of its location in Silicon Valley, the ''Mercury News'' has covered many of the key events in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball Pitching
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 L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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