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Andy Fletcher (umpire)
Andrew Jay Fletcher (born November 17, 1966) is an American umpire in Major League Baseball, wearing number 49. He worked in the National League in 1999 and has worked across both major leagues since 2000. Fletcher has appeared in one Major League Baseball All-Star Game and in one World Baseball Classic. Career Fletcher attended the Harry Wendelstedt Umpire School in 1989. He spent 10 years in the minor leagues before his MLB promotion in 1999. Fletcher worked in the Appalachian League in 1989, the Florida Instructional League and Midwest League in 1990 and 1991, the Carolina League in 1992, the Southern League from 1992 to 1994, and the Pacific Coast League from 1995 to 1999. He also worked in the Arizona Fall League in 1997. While in the Southern League in 1994, Fletcher was involved in two arguments with Michael Jordan, during the basketball star's lone season with the Birmingham Barons. One of the two confrontations ended with the ejection of Barons manager Terry Francona. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-most populous city in Tennessee, after Nashville. Memphis is the fifth-most populous city in the Southeast, the nation's 28th-largest overall, as well as the largest city bordering the Mississippi River. The Memphis metropolitan area includes West Tennessee and the greater Mid-South region, which includes portions of neighboring Arkansas, Mississippi and the Missouri Bootheel. One of the more historic and culturally significant cities of the Southern United States, Memphis has a wide variety of landscapes and distinct neighborhoods. The first European explorer to visit the area of present-day Memphis was Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto in 1541. The high Chickasaw Bluffs protecting the location from the waters of the Mississipp ... [...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] |
Terry Francona
Terrence Jon Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he was the manager of the Boston Red Sox for eight seasons, whom he led to two World Series titles and ended the franchise's 86-year championship drought. After a four-year stint as the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, Francona was hired to manage the Red Sox in 2004 and led the team to their first championship since 1918. He won another World Series with Boston in 2007 and continued to manage the team until the end of the 2011 season. In 2013, Francona became Cleveland's manager and led them to an American League pennant in 2016. He also led Cleveland to a 22-game win streak during the 2017 season, the longest in American League history and the second-longest in MLB history. Early life Francona was born on April 22, 1959, in Aberdeen, South Dakota, to Tito Francona (1933 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Birmingham Barons
The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current edition of the Barons was previously located in Montgomery, Alabama, and known as the Montgomery Rebels. History Most of the professional baseball teams that have played in Birmingham have used the name Barons. The current team began playing in Birmingham in 1981, having previously played in Montgomery, Alabama as the Montgomery Rebels. Like previous Barons teams, they played at Rickwood Field on a full-time basis from 1981 to 1987. Since then, they have only played at Rickwood on special occasions. From 1988 to 2012, the team played at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium in the suburb of Hoover, Alabama, where former basketball star Michael Jordan played with the team in . Since 2013, the team plays at Regions Field in the downtown part of Birmin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." He played fifteen seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan is the principal owner and chairman of the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA and of 23XI Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series. He was integral in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s,Markovits and Rensman, p. 89. becoming a global cultural icon in the process. Jordan played college basketball for three seasons under coach Dean Smith with the North Carolina Tar Heels. As a freshman, he was a member of the Tar Heels' national championship team in 1982. Jordan joined the Bulls in 1984 as the third overall draft pick, and quickly emerged as a league star ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arizona Fall League
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled by many of the top prospects in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) who are assigned by their parent clubs. Structure The six teams of the AFL are organized in two three-team divisions. Each AFL team is affiliated with five teams in Major League Baseball (MLB), and each MLB team provides seven players from their Minor League Baseball affiliates, yielding 35-man rosters. Specific players are invited (not assigned) to play in the AFL by their parent club. The league provides an environment for top prospects to advance their development, in a setting that MLB governs and monitors, as opposed to other offseason leagues (such as the Puerto Rican Winter League) located outside of the contiguous United States. Player eligibility has changed o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball (MLB). The PCL was one of the premier regional baseball leagues in the first half of the 20th century. Although it was never recognized as a true major league, to which it aspired, its quality of play was considered very high. A number of top stars of the era, including Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, were products of the league. In 1958, with the arrival of major league teams on the west coast and the availability of televised major league games, the PCL's modern era began with each team signing Player Development Contracts to become farm teams of major league clubs. Following MLB's reorganization of the minor leagues in 2021, it operated as the Triple-A West for one season before switching back to its previous mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Southern League (1964–2020)
Southern League may refer to: Professional baseball leagues in the United States *Southern League (1964–present), active since 1964 *Southern Association, known as the "Southern League", active from 1901 to 1919 *Southern League (1885–1899), active from 1885 to 1899 Other *Southern League (New Zealand), a semi-professional football league in New Zealand *Southern Football League, a semi-professional football league in England currently known as the PitchingIn Southern League * Southern League (ice hockey), a former top-flight ice hockey league in southern England from 1970 to 1978 *Southern League (1929–31), one of two British speedway leagues from 1929 to 1931 *Southern League (1952–53), a British speedway competition See also *Southern Football League (other) * League of the South, a United States Southern nationalist organization, formerly known as the Southern League *Southern League Ausonia, an Italian political party based in Campania *Southern Leagues, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the Low-A East before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. The organization that later became the Carolina League formed in 1945, just as World War II was ending, and consisted of eight teams, six from North Carolina and two from southern Virginia. This later grew to as many as 12 teams, at times. History The Carolina League was announced on October 29, 1944, after an organizational meeting at Durham, North Carolina. It was a successor to the Class D Bi-State League that existed before World War II. The league began play in 1945 with eight teams based in Burlington, Durham, Gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Midwest League
The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The Midwest League began as the Illinois State League (1947–1948) and then became the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League (1949–1955). In 1956, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League was renamed the Midwest League. The circuit temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the High-A Central before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. The Lansing Lugnuts and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers franchises jointly have won the most Midwest League championships, with nine each. History The Midwest League directly evolved from two earlier leagues in the region. In 1947, the Class D Illinois State League (ISL) began operation with six Illinois teams: the Belleville Stags, Centralia Cubs, Marion Indians, Mattoon Indians, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florida Instructional League
The Florida Instructional League (FIL), sometimes known informally as "instructs", is an American professional baseball league. The league was founded in 1958. Young major league prospects hone their skills in the FIL, while experienced players may go there to rehabilitate from an injury, to learn a new position or to refine a particular skill. The league plays its games in September and October. History The Florida Instructional League was founded in 1958. Many MLB players have spent time in the league, including Pete Rose, Joe Torre, Boog Powell, Gary Carter, and Steve Carlton. In 1968, Boston Red Sox outfielder Tony Conigliaro played in the league to attempt a comeback as a pitcher after suffering an injury to the face and eye the year before. Conigliaro did not make it as a pitcher, but he returned to the major leagues as an outfielder. Whitey Herzog received his first managerial opportunity in the FIL, leading the team fielded by the New York Mets organization. Several forme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from June to August. The league is part of Major League Baseball and USA Baseball's Prospect Development Pipeline. Between 1911 and 2020, the Appalachian League operated as part of Minor League Baseball and various of its teams were affiliated with Major League Baseball franchises. It operated as a Class D league during four stints through 1962, then was classified as a Rookie league from 1963 to 2020. History The original Appalachian League existed only for four seasons from 1911 to 1914 and was classified as a Class D circuit. All teams were independent with no Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliation. It consisted of the Asheville Moonshiners, Bristol Boosters, Cleveland Counts, Johnson City Soldiers, Knoxville Appalachians, and M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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