Buck Varner
Glen Gann "Buck" Varner (August 17, 1930 – April 29, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. The outfielder, a native of Hixson, Tennessee, appeared in two Major League games for the Washington Senators during the 1952 season. Varner's Major League trial came at the end of the 1952 minor league season, when he batted .290 with four home runs with Washington's Double-A farm club, the Chattanooga Lookouts. On September 19, he started in left field at Griffith Stadium against the Boston Red Sox, and was hitless in four plate appearances, with a base on balls, against Sid Hudson. Four days later, as a pinch hitter, he grounded out against venerable Philadelphia Athletics pitcher Bobo Newsom. The , Varner batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He batted .277 in six minor league seasons (1948–1950; 1952–1954),Baseball Referencebr>(minors)/ref> missing the 1951 campaign due to service in the Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch fly balls and ground balls then to return them to the infield for the out or before the runner advances, if there are any runners on the bases. As an outfielder, they normally play behind the six players located in the field. By convention, each of the nine defensive positions in baseball is numbered. The outfield positions are 7 (left field), 8 (center field) and 9 (right field). These numbers are shorthand designations useful in baseball scorekeeping and are not necessarily the same as the squad numbers worn on player uniforms. Outfielders named to the MLB All-Century Team are Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Stan Musial, Pete Rose, Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Ken Griffey Jr. Strategy Players can ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Left Fielder
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the left fielder is assigned the number 7. Position description Left fielders must cover large distances - speed, instincts, and quickness in reacting to the ball are key. They must be able to catch fly balls above their heads and on the run. They must be able to throw the ball accurately over a long distance to be effective; they must also learn to judge whether to attempt a difficult catch and risk letting the ball get past them, or to instead allow the ball to fall in order to guarantee a swift play and prevent the advance of runners. Left fielders must also familiarize themselves with the varying configurations of different ballparks' foul territory, and prevent balls hit down the foul lines from gett ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bobo Newsom
Louis Norman "Bobo" Newsom (August 11, 1907 – December 7, 1962) was an American starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Also known as "Buck", Newsom played for nine of the 16 then-existing big-league teams from 1929 through 1953 over all or parts of 20 seasons, appearing in an even 600 games pitched and 3,759 innings pitched. He batted and threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Life and career Born in Hartsville, South Carolina, Newsom was known to possess a somewhat eccentric and emotional personality, typically referring to everyone in the third person, including referring to himself as "Bobo". Newsom pitched valiantly in a losing cause in Game Seven of the 1940 World Series with the Detroit Tigers, two days after pitching a shutout in honor of his father, who had died while visiting from South Carolina and watching his son win the opener. Bobo had said before pitching Game Five, "I'll win this one for my daddy." When manager Del Baker named Newsom to take the mou ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Philadelphia Athletics
The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakland Athletics, their current identity and location. The beginning The Western League had been renamed the American League in 1900 by league president Bancroft (Ban) Johnson, and declared itself the second major league in 1901. Johnson created new franchises in the east and eliminated some franchises in the west. Philadelphia had a new franchise created to compete with the National League's Philadelphia Phillies. Former catcher Connie Mack was recruited to manage the club. Mack in turn persuaded Phillies minority owner Ben Shibe as well as others to invest in the team, which would be called the Philadelphia Athletics, a name taken from the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia, which had been a founding member of the NL in 1876 but ha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ground Ball
In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a foul ball counts as a strike against the batter, unless there are already two strikes on the batter, with special rules applying to foul tips and foul bunts. Fly balls are those hit in an arcing manner, with pop-ups being a subset of foul balls that do not travel far. Line drives are batted balls hit on a straight line trajectory, while ground balls are hit at a low trajectory, contact the ground shortly after being hit, and then either roll or bounce. Batted balls, especially line drives, can present a hazard to players, umpires, and spectators, as people have been seriously injured or killed after being struck by battle balls. Fair or foul upright=.8, A view along a first base foul line, looking from the outfield wall back towards home ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pinch Hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American football or ice hockey, and in a similar way to association football, baseball does not have a "free substitution rule" (at the professional level) and thus the replaced player is not allowed back into that game. The pinch hitter assumes the spot in the batting order of the player whom he replaces. Pinch hitters are commonly used to replace a weak hitter (often the pitcher) or to gain a Platoon system, platoon advantage. The player chosen to be a pinch hitter is often a backup infielder or outfielder whose defensive skills are limited. In Major League Baseball (MLB), catchers are less likely to be called upon to pinch-hit, because most teams have only two catchers. Pitchers are ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Retrosheet
Retrosheet is a nonprofit organization whose website features box scores of Major League Baseball (MLB) games from 1906 to the present, and play-by-play narratives for almost every contest since the 1930s. It also includes scores from every major league game played since the 1871 season (the inception of organized professional baseball), as well as all All-Star Games and postseason games, including the World Series. History Retrosheet informally began in 1989, through the efforts of Dr. David Smith, a biology professor at the University of Delaware, and fellow baseball enthusiasts. Building on momentum begun by writer Bill James' Project Scoresheet in 1984, Smith brought together a host of like-minded individuals to compile an accessible database of statistical information previously unavailable to the general public. Smith originally contacted teams and sportswriters in order to gain access to their scorebooks, while other contributors researched old newspapers for play-by-pla ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sid Hudson
Sidney Charles Hudson (January 3, 1915 – October 10, 2008) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Washington Senators (1940–42, 1946–52) and Boston Red Sox (1952–54) who had a lengthy post-playing career as a pitching coach and scout. Born in Coalfield, Tennessee, he batted and threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Biography Hudson entered baseball in 1938 with the Class D Sanford Lookouts, who had a working agreement with the Senators. In his second year with Sanford, Hudson led the Florida State League in games won (24), winning percentage (24–4, .857), earned run average (1.79) and strikeouts (192). The following year, he won 17 games for a second-division Washington team as a rookie, and he was selected to the American League All–Star team in both and . He appeared in the 1941 midsummer classic on July 8 at Briggs Stadium and worked the seventh inning, allowing a two-run home run to Arky Vaughan that put the rival N ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Base On Balls
A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08(a). It is considered a faux pas for a professional player to literally walk to first base; the batter-runner and any advancing runners normally jog on such a play. The term "base on balls" distinguishes a walk from the other manners in which a batter can be awarded first base without liability to be put out (e.g., hit by pitch (HBP), catcher's interference). Though a base on balls, catcher's interference, or a batter hit by a pitched ball all result in the batter (and possibly runners on base) being awarded a base, the term "walk" usually refers only to a base on balls, and not the other methods of reaching base without the bat touching the ball. An importan ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Plate Appearance
In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This happens when he strikes out or is declared out before reaching first base; or when he reaches first base safely or is awarded first base (by a base on balls, hit by pitch, catcher's interference, or obstruction); or when he hits a fair ball which causes a preceding runner to be put out for the third out before he himself is put out or reaches first base safely (''see also'' left on base, fielder's choice, force play). A very similar statistic, at bats, counts a subset of plate appearances that end under certain circumstances. Use as batting record qualifier While at bats are used to calculate batting averages, slugging percentages, plate appearances have no such statistical value. However, at season's end, a player must have ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |