Billy Williams (umpire)
William George Williams, Jr. (September 19, 1930 – September 22, 1998) was a National League umpire from 1963 through 1987. He wore uniform number 24 for most of his career. Early life Born in Brooklyn, New York, Williams started his umpiring career in 1956 in the Evangeline League, before joining the Southwestern League (1957), the South Atlantic League (1958–July 1959) and the International League (July 1959–July 1963). Major League Baseball career Williams joined the National League full-time starting in 1963, and officiated in the 1981 National League Division Series, four National League Championship Series' (1972, 1975, 1978, 1982), three World Series (1970, 1976, 1985), and three Major League Baseball All-Star Games (1965, 1973, 1979). He also was the home plate umpire for the 1967 no-hitter hurled by Houston Astros pitcher Don Wilson against the Atlanta Braves. 1987 Season Williams had planned to retire at the end of the 1987 season, but two injuries ended his c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP) of 1871–1875 (often called simply the "National Association"), the NL is sometimes called the Senior Circuit, in contrast to MLB's other league, the American League, which was founded 25 years later and is called the "Junior Circuit". Both leagues currently have 15 teams. After two years of conflict in a "baseball war" of 1901–1902, the two eight-team leagues agreed in a "peace pact" to recognize each other as "major leagues". As part of this agreement, they drafted rules regarding player contracts, prohibiting "raiding" of rosters, and regulating relationships with minor leagues and lower level clubs. Each league ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National League (NL). Starting fielders are selected by fans, pitchers are selected by managers, and reserves are selected by players and managers. The game is usually played on the second or third Tuesday in July, and is meant to mark the symbolic halfway point of the MLB season (though not the mathematical halfway point, which, for most seasons, falls within the previous calendar week). Both leagues share an ''All-Star break'', with no regular-season games scheduled from the day before through two days after the All-Star Game, with the exception of a single Thursday night game starting in the 2018 season. Some additional events and festivities associated with the game take place each year close to and during this break in the regular season. No ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Squeeze Play (baseball)
In baseball, the squeeze play (a.k.a. squeeze bunt) is a maneuver consisting of a sacrifice bunt with a runner on third base. The batter bunts the ball, expecting to be thrown out at first base, but providing the runner on third base an opportunity to score. Such a bunt is most common with one out. According to Baseball Almanac, the squeeze play was invented in 1894 by George Case and Dutch Carter during a college game at Yale University. In a safety squeeze, the runner at third takes a lead, but does not run towards homeplate until the batter makes contact bunting. In a suicide squeeze, the runner takes off as soon as the pitcher begins the windup to throw the pitch, and before releasing the ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f .... If properly executed, and the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Candlestick Park
Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 until 1999, after which the Giants moved into Pacific Bell Park (since renamed Oracle Park) in 2000. It was also the home field of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League from 1971 through 2013. The 49ers moved to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara for the 2014 season. The last event held at Candlestick was a concert by Paul McCartney in August 2014, and the demolition of the stadium was completed in September 2015. As of 2019, the site is planned to be redeveloped into office space. The stadium was situated at Candlestick Point on the western shore of San Francisco Bay. Candlestick Point was named for the " candlestick birds" (long-billed curlews) that populated the area for many years. Due to Candlestick Park's location nex ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New York Gothams, and renamed three years later the New York Giants, the team eventually moved from New York City to San Francisco in 1958. The franchise is one of the oldest and most successful in professional baseball, with more wins than any team in the history of major American sports. The team was the first major-league organization based in New York City, most memorably playing home games at several iterations of the Polo Grounds. The Giants have played in the World Series 20 times. In 2014, the Giants won their then-record 23rd National League pennant; this mark has since been equaled and then eclipsed by the rival Dodgers, who as of 2022 lay claim to 24 NL crowns. The Giants' eight World Series championships are second-most in the NL ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rick Sutcliffe
Richard Lee Sutcliffe (born June 21, 1956), nicknamed "The Red Baron", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals between 1976 and 1994. Sutcliffe is currently a broadcaster for ESPN. A right-hander, Sutcliffe was a three-time All-Star. He won the National League Rookie of the Year award in and the National League Cy Young Award in . MLB career Early years and Rookie of the Year Sutcliffe's first full season in the majors was 1979. He won 17 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers and was the first of four consecutive Rookies of the Year for the Dodgers from 1979– (Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela, and Steve Sax were the others). Although Sutcliffe did not appear on the Dodgers' roster for their 1981 World Series championship run, he was awarded a World Series ring by the team. The Dodgers traded Sutcliffe to the Cleveland Indians for Jorge Orta, a journeyman ou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wild Pitch
In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third strike), to advance. A wild pitch usually passes the catcher behind home plate, often allowing runners on base an easy chance to advance while the catcher chases the ball down. Sometimes the catcher may block a pitch, and the ball may be nearby, but the catcher has trouble finding the ball, allowing runners to advance. A closely related statistic is the passed ball. As with many baseball statistics, whether a pitch that gets away from a catcher is counted as a wild pitch or a passed ball is at the discretion of the official scorer. The benefit of the doubt is usually given to the catcher if there is uncertainty; therefore, most of these situations are scored as wild pitches. If the pitch was so low as to touch the ground, or so high that the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves were founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1871, as the Boston Red Stockings. After various name changes, the team eventually began operating as the Boston Braves in 1912, which lasted for most of the first half of the 20th century. Then, in 1953, the team relocation of professional sports teams, moved to Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and became the Milwaukee Braves, followed by their move to Atlanta in 1966. The name "Braves" originates from Braves (Native Americans), a term for a Native American warrior. They are List of baseball nicknames, nicknamed "the Bravos", and often referred to as "America's Team#Other uses, America's Team" in reference to the team's games being broadcast nationally on Braves TBS Baseball, TBS from the 1970s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Don Wilson (baseball)
Donald Edward Wilson (February 12, 1945 – January 5, 1975) was a professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball with the Houston Astros.Don Wilson at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed November 27, 2009 Archived 11/27/09 Biography Career Wilson attended Centennial High School and his professional career began after he graduated from[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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No-hitter
In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher who prevents the opposing team from achieving a hit is said to have "thrown a no-hitter". In most cases, no-hitters are recorded by a single pitcher who throws a complete game; one thrown by two or more pitchers is a combined no-hitter. A no-hitter is a rare accomplishment for a pitcher or pitching staff—only 318 have been thrown in MLB history since 1876, an average of about two per year. The most recent major league no-hitter by a single pitcher was thrown on May 10, 2022, by Reid Detmers of the Los Angeles Angels against the Tampa Bay Rays. The most recent combined no-hitter was thrown on November 2, 2022, by starter Cristian Javier, and relief pitchers Bryan Abreu, Rafael Montero and Ryan Pressly of the Houston Astros against the Phi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |