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Brandon Lyon
Brandon James Lyon (born August 10, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox, Arizona Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, and New York Mets. Professional career Toronto Blue Jays Lyon made his major league debut halfway through the 2001 season, posting a five-win, four-loss record for the Toronto Blue Jays, with a 4.29 ERA from 11 starts. He was the second youngest winning pitcher in Blue Jays' history after winning on debut (2–1 over Baltimore). 2002, however, was a different story. Lyon started the season as a starter for the Jays, but lost three of his first four decisions of the season, including a career-high 7 earned runs against the Yankees on April 10, and against the Angels on May 3. Three weeks later, Lyon was kicked from the rotation, and placed in the bullpen. He made his debut in this role at the SkyDome, against Boston, pitching 3 innings. In five games ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American League's eight charter teams in 1901, the franchise spent its first year as a major league club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers before moving to St. Louis, Missouri, to become the St. Louis Browns in 1902. After 52 years in St. Louis, the franchise was purchased in November 1953 by a syndicate of Baltimore business and civic interests led by attorney and civic activist Clarence Miles and Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. The team's current owner is American trial lawyer Peter Angelos. The Orioles adopted their team name in honor of the Baltimore oriole, official state bird of Maryland; it had been used previously by several baseball clubs in the city, including another AL charter member franchise also named the "History of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fernando Rodney
Fernando Rodney (born March 18, 1977) is a Dominican–American professional baseball pitcher for the Toros de Tijuana of the Mexican League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Tampa Bay Rays, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics and Washington Nationals. Rodney made his MLB debut in MLB in 2002, and joined the 300 save club in 2017. In the 2019 season, following Ichiro Suzuki's retirement, Rodney became the oldest active player in Major League Baseball and was the last player born in the 1970s to play in the Major Leagues. Rodney won a World Series championship with the Nationals in 2019. Rodney is a three-time MLB All-Star. He won the MLB Delivery Man of the Year Award and American League Comeback Player of the Year Award in 2012. He throws a 95 mph fastball, and a palmball in the low 80s. Rodney is a cousin of Alfredo F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chad Qualls
Chad Michael Qualls (born August 17, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, and Colorado Rockies. Baseball career Amateur career Qualls attended Narbonne High School in Harbor City, California, Los Angeles Harbor College (LAHC) in Wilmington, California, and the University of Nevada-Reno in Reno, Nevada. After pitching for LAHC, he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 52nd round of the 1997 MLB Draft, but he did not sign. He transferred to the University of Nevada, where he played college baseball for the Nevada Wolf Pack's baseball team, competing in the Big West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. He was named to the Big West Conference's second team in 1999. In 2000, Qualls anchored the Wolf Pack's starting rotation wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NL West
The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a regular-season of 162 games, half of the teams were put into the new National League East, East Division and half into the new West Division. Within each division, the teams played 18 games each against their five division mates (90 games), and also 12 games against the teams in the opposite division (72 games), totaling 162 games. Geography Despite the geography, the owners of the Chicago Cubs insisted that their team be placed into the East Division along with the teams in New York City, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Also, the owners of the St. Louis Cardinals wanted that team to be in the same division with their natural rivals of the Cubs. The league could have insisted on a purely geographical alignment like the American League did. But ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Setup Man
In baseball, a setup man (or set-up man, also sometimes referred to as a setup pitcher or setup reliever) is a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer. They commonly pitch the eighth inning, with the closer pitching the ninth. As closers were reduced to one-inning specialists, setup men became more prominent. Setup pitchers often come into the game with the team losing or the game tied. They are usually the second best relief pitcher on a team, behind the closer. After closers became one-inning pitchers, primarily in the ninth inning, setup pitchers became more highly valued. A pitcher who succeeds in this role is often promoted to a closer. Setup men are paid less than closers and mostly make less than the average Major League salary. The most common statistic used to evaluate relievers is the save. Due to the definition of the statistic, setup men are rarely in position to record a save even if they pitch well, but they can be charged with a blown save if they ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
José Valverde
José Rafael Valverde (born March 24, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. He is nicknamed "Papa Grande." Career Arizona Diamondbacks 2003 Valverde made his Major League Baseball debut in 2003 to help out when Arizona Diamondbacks closer Matt Mantei was injured. He was named the National League Player of the Week on June 23, 2003. For the season, he finished with 10 saves in 54 appearances. His ERA finished at 2.15 with 71 strikeouts in 50.1 innings pitched. In September 2003 Valverde hit a double on the first pitch that he faced in the major leagues, thrown by Leo Estrella. He then scored on an RBI single from Steve Finley. In the rest of his career he would bat only once more, striking out in 2008. 2004 Injured for most of the 2004 season, Valverde only managed to appear in 29 games. 2005 He gained the Diamondbacks cl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Closer (baseball)
In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer (abbreviated CL), is a relief pitcher who specializes in getting the final outs in a close game when his team is leading. The role is often assigned to a team's best reliever. Before the 1990s, pitchers in similar roles were referred to as a fireman, short reliever, and stopper. A small number of closers have won the Cy Young Award. Eight closers have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Lee Smith, Bruce Sutter and Hoyt Wilhelm. Usage A closer is generally a team's best reliever and designated to pitch the last few outs of games when his team is leading by a margin of three runs or fewer. Rarely does a closer enter with his team losing or in a tie game. A closer's effectiveness has traditionally been measured by the save, an official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1969. Over time, closers have become on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curt Schilling
Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance in 1993, and won championships in 2001 with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in 2004 and 2007 with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling retired with a career postseason record of 11–2, and his .846 postseason winning percentage is a major-league record among pitchers with at least ten decisions. He is a member of the 3,000 strikeout club and has the highest strikeout-to-walk ratio of any of its inactive members. He is tied for third for the most 300-strikeout seasons. After retiring, he founded Green Monster Games, which was renamed 38 Studios. The company released '' Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning'' in February 2012. Three months later, they laid off their entire staff amid severe financial troubles. As a radio personality, Schilling was sig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jorge De La Rosa
Jorge Alberto de la Rosa Gonzalez (born April 5, 1981) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago Cubs. Professional career Minor leagues De la Rosa was signed as an amateur free agent by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 1998. He was purchased by the Monterrey Sultanes of the Mexican League prior to the 2000 season. The Boston Red Sox purchased de la Rosa from Monterrey prior to the 2001 season. In November 2003 season, the Red Sox traded de la Rosa with Casey Fossum, Brandon Lyon and Michael Goss to the Diamondbacks for Curt Schilling. The Diamondbacks traded him in December 2003 with Chris Capuano, Craig Counsell, Chad Moeller, Lyle Overbay and Junior Spivey to the Milwaukee Brewers for Richie Sexson, Shane Nance and a player to be named later. Milwaukee Brewers De la Rosa made his MLB debut on August 14, 2004, for the Milwaukee ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casey Fossum
Casey Paul Fossum (born January 6, 1978) is a former professional pitcher. Previously, he played for the Boston Red Sox (2001–2003), Arizona Diamondbacks (2004), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2005–2007), Detroit Tigers (2008), and New York Mets (2009) of Major League Baseball, and the Hanshin Tigers (2010) of Nippon Professional Baseball. He bats and throws left-handed. Personal life Casey Fossum is currently retired from playing Big League baseball and resides in his hometown, Waco, Texas. Casey is married to Kadette Cooper Fossum, a '97 Midway graduate and an '01 Texas Tech Alumna. Casey is involved in his community in helping youth baseball players through the Little League and Select Baseball teams. He lives in Waco, TX, with his wife and their indoor mini horses Duey, Houdini, and Lieuy. He also helps his wife, Kadette, rescue and retrain retired thoroughbred racehorses. Early years and college Fossum was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He attended Midway High School in Waco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SkyDome
Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, the stadium was also home to the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL) played an annual game at the stadium as part of the Bills Toronto Series from 2008 to 2013. While it is primarily a sports venue, it also hosts other large events such as conventions, trade fairs, concerts, travelling carnivals, circuses and monster truck shows. The stadium was renamed "Rogers Centre" following the 2005 purchase of the stadium by Rogers Communications, the corporation that also owns the Toronto Blue Jays. The venue is noted for bein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
