Frankie Zak
Frank Thomas Zak (February 22, 1922 – February 6, 1972) was a professional baseball player. The shortstop played all or part of three seasons in Major League Baseball from 1944 to 1946. Zak played for the Pittsburgh Pirates his entire MLB career, his main position being shortstop. For his career, Zak hit for a .269 batting average, with 56 total hits (including five doubles and one triple in 123 big-league games played). Minor leagues Born in Passaic, New Jersey, Zak threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . He was a gifted athlete, but had little interest in playing baseball for a living. In the spring of 1941, he visited a high-school friend, Ed Sudol, who had been signed by the Tarboro Orioles of the Class D Coastal Plain League. The Orioles were in need of a shortstop and gave Zak a tryout. He had not played the position before, but showed enough to earn a contract for the summer. Zak played at the Class D level for 1941 and 1942, then moved up to top- ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who were typically poor at batting and were often placed at the bottom of the batting order. Today, shortstops are often able to hit well and many are placed at the top of the lineup. In the numbering system used by scorers to record defensive plays, the shortstop is assigned the number 6. More hit balls go to the shortstop than to any other position, as there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the ball slightly. Like a second baseman, a shortstop must be agile, for example when performing a 4-6-3 double play. Also, like a third baseman, the shortstop fields balls hit to the left side of the infield, where a strong arm is needed to throw out a batter-runner befo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Coastal Plain League (Class D)
The Coastal Plain League was a Minor league baseball affiliated circuit which, except for the war years (1942–1945), operated in North Carolina between 1937 and 1952. It was classified as a "D" league. It grew out of a semi-pro league that operated from 1935 to 1936 under the same Coastal Plain League name. Today, the summer collegiate baseball league has adopted the Coastal Plain League moniker. Cities represented * Ayden, NC: Ayden Aces (1937–1938) *Edenton, NC: Edenton Colonials (1952) *Fayetteville, NC: Fayetteville Cubs (1946) * Goldsboro, NC: Goldsboro Goldbugs (1937–1941,1946–1949); Goldsboro Cardinals (1950–1951); Goldsboro Jets (1952) *Greenville, NC: Greenville Greenies (1937–1941,1946–49); Greenville Robins (1950–1951) *Kinston, NC: Kinston Eagles (1937–1941, 1946–1952) *New Bern, NC: New Bern Bears (1937–1941, 1946–1952) * Roanoke Rapids, NC: Roanoke Rapids Blue Jays (1947); Roanoke Rapids Jays (1948–1952) *Rocky Mount, NC: Rocky ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Minor Leagues
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in various sports. They generally have lesser fan bases, much smaller revenues and salaries, and are used to develop players for bigger leagues. The minor league concept is a manifestation of the franchise system used in North American sports, whereby the group of major league teams in each sport is fixed for long periods between expansions or other adjustments, which only take place with the consent of the major league owners. In Europe, and many other parts of the world, association football(Soccer), basketball, american football, baseball, handball,hockey etc leagues have many divisions below the ''top-flight level'' as part of the football pyramid. In other parts of the worl ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Marty Marion
Martin Whiteford "Mr. Shortstop" Marion (December 1, 1917 – March 15, 2011) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop and manager. Marion played for the St. Louis Cardinals and the St. Louis Browns between 1940–1953. He was a defensive stalwart of the Cardinals' dynasty in the 1940s, which saw them win three World Series in a five year span, and was named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1944, the first shortstop in the history of the National League to win the award. Marion managed the Cardinals in 1951, the Browns from June 10, 1952, through 1953, and the Chicago White Sox from September 14, 1954 through 1956. During his career, he batted and threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Baseball career Marion was born in Richburg, South Carolina. He grew up in Atlanta, where he attended Tech High School and played baseball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. His older brother, Red Marion, was briefly an outfielder in the American League and a long-time ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Forbes Field
Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League (NFL) franchise. The stadium also served as the home American football, football field for the University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Panthers football, "Pitt" Panthers from 1909 to 1924. The stadium was named after its adjacent street, Forbes Ave., itself named for British general John Forbes (British Army officer), John Forbes, who fought in the French and Indian War and named the city in 1758. The US$1 million ($ million today) project was initiated by Pittsburgh Pirates' owner Barney Dreyfuss, with the goal of replacing his franchise's then-current home, Exposition Park (Pittsburgh), Exposition Park. The stadium was made of concrete and steel, the first such stadium in the N ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of the American Association (19th century), American Association in 1881 before joining the NL in 1890. The Reds played in the NL National League West, West division from 1969 to 1993, before joining the Central division in 1994. For several years in the 1970s, they were considered the most dominant team in baseball, most notably winning the 1975 World Series, 1975 and 1976 World Series; the team was colloquially known as the "Big Red Machine" during this time, and it included National Baseball Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame members Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez. Overall, the Reds have won five World Series championships, nine NL pennants, one AA pennant and 10 division titles. The team plays its home games at Great American Ball Park, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eddie Miller (infielder)
Edward Robert Miller (November 26, 1916 – July 31, 1997) was an American professional baseball player, a shortstop who played for 14 seasons in the National League between 1936 and 1950. He was a talented fielder and a perennial All-Star during the 1940s. Born in Pittsburgh, Miller made his Major League debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 1936 as a 19-year-old. He played in 41 games over 2 seasons with the Reds before being traded to the New York Yankees in 1938 in exchange for Willard Hershberger. Miller never played for the Yankees at the major league level and was subsequently traded to the Boston Bees less than a year later. He became the starting shortstop while in Boston, and established himself as one of the National League's best shortstops during his four seasons there. His first season with Boston was shortened when he fractured his ankle in a collision with Al Simmons. He recovered in 1940 to a career-best .276 for the Bees while leading all NL shortstops in fie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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At Bat
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batter is credited with an at bat only if that plate appearance does not have one of the results enumerated below. While at bats are used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average and slugging percentage, a player can qualify for the season-ending rankings in these categories only if they accumulate 502 plate appearances during the season. Batters will not receive credit for an at bat if their plate appearances end under the following circumstances: * They receive a base on balls (BB).In 1887, Major League Baseball counted bases on balls as hits (and thus as at-bats). The result was high batting averages, including some near .500, and the experiment was abandoned the following season. * They are hit by a pitch (HBP). * They ... [...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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National League (baseball)
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. The National League survived competition from various other professional baseball leagues during the late 1800s. Most did not last for more than a few seasons, with a handful of teams joining the NL once their leagues folded. The American League declared itself a second major league in 1901, and AL and NL engaged in a "baseball war" during the 1901 an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with referee, officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump. They are also sometimes addressed as blue at lower levels due to the common color of the uniform worn by umpires. In professional baseball, the term ''blue'' is seldom used by players or managers, who instead call the umpire by name. Although games were often officiated by a sole umpire in the formative years of the sport, since the turn of the 20th century, officiating has been commonly divided among several umpires, who form the umpiring crew. The position is analogous to that of a referee in many other sports. Duties and positions In a game officiated by two or more umpires, the umpire in chief (usually the home plate umpire) is the umpire who is in charge of the entire game. This um ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |