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First-pitch Strike
In baseball, a first-pitch strike is when the pitcher throws a strike to the batter during the first pitch of the at bat. Statistics indicate that throwing a strike on the first pitch allows the pitcher to gain an advantage in the at bat, limiting the hitter's chance of getting on base. Importance With the continued interest and development of statistics in the game of baseball, first-pitch strikes have been under the microscope of many fans and sabermetricians (those who study the game based on evidence, mainly stats that measure game activity). Many studies have proven that the first pitch in the at bat is the most important one. And according tCraig Burley's 2004 study in The Hardball Times throwing a strike on a 0-0 count could potentially save over 12,000 runs scored in a single Major League Baseball season. In Burley's study, he used stats from the 2003 MLB season. He found that when a pitcher throws a strike on the first pitch of the at bat, hitters collected a .261 batting ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called " runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter). The principal objective of the batting team is to have a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadium while a new stadium was being built. In 2008, they moved in to Nationals Park, located on South Capitol Street in the Southeast quadrant of D.C., near the Anacostia River. The Nationals are the eighth major league franchise to be based in Washington, D.C., and the first since 1971. The current franchise was founded in 1969 as the Montreal Expos as part of a four-team expansion. After a failed contraction plan, the Expos were purchased by MLB, which sought to relocate the team to a new city. Washington, D.C. was chosen in 2004, and the Nationals were established in 2005 as the first MLB franchise relocation since the third Washington Senators moved to Texas in 1971. While the team initially struggled after moving to Washington, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major league status. It is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season, 25 years after the formation of the National League (the "Senior Circuit"). At the end of every season, the American League champion plays in the World Series against the National League champion; two seasons did not end in playing a World Series (1904, when the National League champion New York Giants refused to play their AL counterpart, and 1994, when a players' strike prevented the Series). Through 2021, American League teams have won 66 of the 117 World Series played since 1903, with 27 of those coming from the New York Yankees alone. The New York ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. They are one of two major league clubs based in New York City, the other is the National League (NL)'s New York Mets. The team was founded in when Frank J. Farrell, Frank Farrell and William Stephen Devery, Bill Devery purchased the franchise rights to the defunct Baltimore Orioles (no relation to the current Baltimore Orioles, team of the same name) after it ceased operations and used them to establish the New York Highlanders. The Highlanders were officially renamed the New York Yankees in . The team is owned by Yankee Global Enterprises, a limited liability company that is controlled by the family of the late George Steinbrenner, who purchased the team in 1973. Brian Cashman is the team's general manage ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phil Hughes
Philip Joseph Hughes (born June 24, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and San Diego Padres from 2007 through 2018. He stands tall and weighs . He was the Yankees' first-round pick in the 2004 MLB draft. During his time in the Yankees' minor-league system, Hughes was one of the most highly anticipated prospects in baseball, but his major league career was marked by inconsistency. He debuted in the major leagues in 2007 as a starting pitcher and quickly demonstrated his potential with a bid for a no-hitter in only his second MLB start. However, injury cut short his outing, as well as significant portions of his 2007 and 2008 seasons. Hughes began 2009 in the minors but later returned to the major leagues, eventually converting to a relief pitcher in June; pitching as a setup man for Mariano Rivera, Hughes excelled in the new role during the regular season. Despite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thrown fastballs at speeds of (officially) and up to (unofficially). Pitchers who throw more slowly can put movement on the ball, or throw it on the outside of home plate where batters can't easily reach it. Fastballs are usually thrown with backspin, so that the Magnus effect creates an upward force on the ball. This causes it to fall less rapidly than expected, and sometimes causes an optical illusion often called a rising fastball. Although it is impossible for a human to throw a baseball fast enough and with enough backspin for the ball to actually rise, to the batter the pitch seems to rise due to the unexpected lack of natural drop on the pitch. A straight pitch is achieved by gripping the ball with the fingers across the wide part o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jason Vargas
Jason Matthew Vargas (born February 2, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, Kansas City Royals, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies. The Marlins drafted Vargas in the second round of the 2004 MLB draft. He made his major league debut in 2005. In 2017, he was an All Star and tied for the American League lead in wins. Amateur career Vargas was born in Apple Valley, California. He attended Victor Valley High School in Victorville, California, where he played for the school's baseball team under his father, who was head coach. His father retired in 1998, and Vargas transferred to Apple Valley High School in Apple Valley. Vargas graduated in 2001. The Minnesota Twins drafted him with the 1,273rd pick in the 2001 Major League Baseball draft. He declined to sign with Minnesota, and instead enrolled at Louisiana State University (LSU) to play college ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team in 1977 Major League Baseball expansion, 1977 playing their home games in the Kingdome. Since July , the Mariners' home Baseball park, ballpark has been T-Mobile Park, located in the SoDo, Seattle, SoDo neighborhood of Seattle. The "Mariners" name originates from the prominence of seamanship, marine culture in the city of Seattle. They are List of baseball nicknames, nicknamed the M's, a title featured in their primary logo from 1987 to 1992. They adopted their current team colors – navy blue, northwest green (teal), and Silver (color), silver – prior to the 1993 season, after having been royal blue and Gold (color), gold since the team's inception. Their List of Major League Baseball mascots, mascot is the Mariner ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The franchise was established as an expansion team and began play in 1998. The team plays its home games at Chase Field, formerly known as Bank One Ballpark. Along with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Diamondbacks are one of the newest teams in MLB. After a fifth-place finish in their inaugural season, the Diamondbacks made several off-season acquisitions, including future Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson, who won four consecutive Cy Young Awards in his first four seasons with the team. In 1999, Arizona won 100 games and their first division championship. In 2001, they won the World Series over the three-time defending champion New York Yankees, becoming the fastest expansion team in major league history to win the World Series, and the only majo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daniel Hudson
Daniel Claiborne Hudson (born March 9, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Hudson was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the fifth round of the 2008 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut for the White Sox in 2009, and has also played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres. Hudson earned the save in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series to clinch the Nationals' first championship in franchise history. Amateur career Hudson attended Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where he played college baseball for the Old Dominion Monarchs. While at Princess Anne, Hudson led the Cavaliers to the 2005 state championship. In 2007, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Hudson finished his collegiate career second all-time in strikeout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roy Halladay
Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III (May 14, 1977 – November 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies between 1998 and 2013. His nickname, "Doc", was coined by Toronto Blue Jays announcer Tom Cheek, and was a reference to Wild West gunslinger Doc Holliday. An eight-time All-Star, Halladay was one of the most dominant pitchers of his era. Known for his outstanding durability, he led the league in complete games seven times, the most of any pitcher whose career began after 1945. He also led the league in strikeout-to-walk ratio five times and innings pitched four times. Raised in Arvada, Colorado, Halladay pitched at Arvada West High School, before being drafted 17th overall by the Blue Jays in the 1995 MLB draft. He made his major league debut in 1998, nearly pitching a no-hitter in his second career start. After struggling in 2000, he was demoted to the minor leagues, w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Pavano
Carl Anthony Pavano (born January 8, 1976) is an American former professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Pavano played in Major League Baseball from 1998 to 2012 for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, and Minnesota Twins. He was a member of the 2003 World Series champions and appeared in the 2004 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. He signed with the Yankees in 2005, where he became known for his frequent injuries during his four year stint with them. Amateur career Born in New Britain, Connecticut, Pavano graduated from Southington High School in Southington, Connecticut, the alma mater of former major league pitcher Rob Dibble. Pavano's retired jersey (14) still hangs (unretired as of 2011). At Southington, Pavano led the baseball team to a state championship in 1994. Pavano initially committed to play college baseball at Louisiana State. Professional career Boston Red Sox Pavano was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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