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Glenn Sparkman
Glenn Michael Sparkman (born May 11, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Orix Buffaloes. High school and college Sparkman attended Ganado High School (Texas), Ganado High School in his hometown of Ganado, Texas, Ganado, Texas. Undrafted out of high school, he attended Wharton County Junior College in Wharton, Texas. In 2013, his junior year, he went 5-4 with a 2.78 ERA in 77.2 innings. Professional career Kansas City Royals Sparkman was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 20th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft. He was assigned to the Rookie-level, Rookie Idaho Falls Chukars for the 2013 season and made 20 relief appearances, posting a 1–0 Win–loss record (pitching), win–loss record, 1.72 earned run average (ERA), and 47 strikeouts in 36 Inning, innings pitched. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games primarily at Rogers Centre in downtown Toronto. The name "Blue Jays" originates from the bird of the same name, and blue is also the traditional colour of Toronto's collegiate and professional sports teams including the Maple Leafs (ice hockey) and the Argonauts (Canadian football). In 1976, out of the over 4,000 suggestions, 154 people selected the name "Blue Jays." In addition, the team was originally owned by the Labatt Brewing Company, makers of the popular beer Labatt Blue. Colloquially nicknamed the "Jays", the team's official colours are royal blue, navy blue, red, and white. An expansion franchise, the club was founded in Toronto in 1977. Originally based at Exhibition Stadium, the team began playing its home games at SkyDome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wharton, Texas
Wharton is a city in and the county seat of Wharton County, Texas, Wharton County, Texas, United States. This city is southwest of Houston. The population was 8,832 at the 2010 census and 8,627 at the 2020 census. Wharton is located on the Colorado River (Texas), Colorado River of Texas. U.S. Route 59 in Texas, U.S. Highway 59 passes west of it. History The area now known as Wharton was part of the Caney Run mail route established in 1838 by the Republic of Texas. The community was named after two leaders in the Anglo-American struggle for Texas independence, brothers John Austin Wharton (1806-1838), John and William H. Wharton, William Wharton. What developed as a Plantations in the American South, plantation community along the Colorado River was first settled in 1846 by some of Stephen F. Austin's original colonists. A post office was established the next year in 1847. The first Lieutenant governor (United States), lieutenant governor of Texas, Albert Horton, was an early set ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arizona League Royals
The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball either as draftees or non-drafted free agents. History The team first competed in the Arizona League (AZL) in 2003, succeeding the Kansas City Royals' Florida-based rookie team, the Gulf Coast League Royals. That season, the team fielded two squads in the league, differentiated by numerical suffixes (1 and 2). The Royals 1 squad won the league championship, defeating the AZL Rangers in the title game. Starting in 2004, the team fielded a single squad in the league, except for the 2014 season when the team did not compete. The team returned to the league in 2015. Prior to the 2021 season, the Arizona League was renamed as the Arizona Complex League The Arizona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sportsnet
Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then was required to divest its stake in the network following its 2001 acquisition of competing network TSN. Rogers then became the sole owner of Sportsnet in 2004 after it bought the remaining minority stake that was held by Fox. The Sportsnet license comprises four 24-hour programming services; Sportsnet was originally licensed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) as a category A service, operating as a group of regional sports networks offering programming tailored to each feed's region (in contrast to TSN, which was licensed at the time to operate as a national sports service, and could only offer limited regional opt-outs). Since 2011, the service has operated under deregulated category C licensing, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tommy John Surgery
Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, or with one from a deceased donor. The procedure is common among collegiate and professional athletes in several sports, particularly in baseball. The procedure was devised in 1974 by orthopedic surgeon Frank Jobe, a Los Angeles Dodgers team physician who served as a special advisor to the team until his death in 2014. It is named after the first baseball player to undergo the surgery, major league pitcher Tommy John, whose record of 288 career victories ranks seventh among left-handed pitchers. The initial operation, John's successful post-surgery career, and the relationship between the two men was the subject of a 2013 ESPN ''30 for 30'' documentary. Uses The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) can become stretched, frayed or torn thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northwest Arkansas Naturals
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at Arvest Ballpark, which opened in 2008 and is located at the intersection of Gene George Boulevard and Watkins Avenue. The team relocated from Wichita, Kansas, Wichita, Kansas, in 2008, where they were known as the Wichita Wranglers. Origin The Wichita Wranglers had struggled with low attendance numbers and an aging Lawrence–Dumont Stadium throughout Bob Rich Jr.'s 18-year ownership of the team. In 2006, he sought a move to Springdale, contingent on a citizen vote to approve financing for a new stadium. The pro-baseball movement in Springdale had counted on the support of Ronnie Floyd, influential pastor of local megachurch First Baptist Church of Springdale. In June 2006, Floyd abruptly pulled his support after he disc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double-A (baseball)
Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League Baseball, organized into three leagues: the Eastern League, the Southern League, and the Texas League. History Class AA ("Double-A") was established in 1912, as the new highest classification of Minor League Baseball. Previously, Class A had been the highest level, predating the establishment of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues—the formal name of Minor League Baseball—in 1901. Entering the 1912 season, three leagues were designated as Class AA: * American Association (AA) * International League (IL) * Pacific Coast League (PCL) Each of these leagues had previously been in Class A. Each remained in Class AA through 1945, then moved into Class AAA (" Triple-A") when it was established in 1946. No other le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the Low-A East before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. The organization that later became the Carolina League formed in 1945, just as World War II was ending, and consisted of eight teams, six from North Carolina and two from southern Virginia. This later grew to as many as 12 teams, at times. History The Carolina League was announced on October 29, 1944, after an organizational meeting at Durham, North Carolina. It was a successor to the Class D Bi-State League that existed before World War II. The league began play in 1945 with eight teams based in Burlington, Durham, Gre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilmington Blue Rocks
The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. Franchise history The Blue Rocks played in the Carolina League, an advanced Single-A league in minor league baseball, from 1993 to 2020. The name "Blue Rocks" was chosen because of the blue granite found along the Brandywine River in Wilmington. The Blue Rocks play at Judy Johnson Field at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium in Wilmington's growing Riverfront district and was instrumental in bringing commerce and public attention to the once ignored and dilapidated area of the city. The Blue Rocks played their first season in 1993 when the Peninsula Pilots were purchased and relocated to the riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware. Principal owner Frank Boulton and co-owner Bud Harrelson bought the franchise in 1992, moved the team from Hampton, Vir ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Class A-Advanced
High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and above Single-A. There are 30 teams classified at the High-A level, one for each team in Major League Baseball (MLB), organized into three leagues: the Midwest League, Northwest League, and South Atlantic League. History Class High-A was established as a classification level within Minor League Baseball in 1990 by subdividing the existing Class A. Class A had been the third-highest level in the minor leagues since 1936 (when it was below Double-A and Class A1) and a hierarchy of Triple-A and Double-A above Class A had been in place since 1946. In 1963, the three classes below Class A (Classes B, C, and D) were abolished, with leagues at those levels moved into Class A. In 1965, Class A was subdivided for the first time, with the establishme ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inning
In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team playing defense. A full baseball game is typically scheduled for nine innings, while softball games consist of seven innings; although this may be shortened due to weather or extended if the score is tied at the end of the scheduled innings. The use of the term ''inning'' in baseball and softball contrasts with cricket and rounders, in which the term is '' innings'' in both singular and plural. Gameplay Each half-inning formally starts when the umpire calls "Play" or "Play ball". A full inning consists of six outs, three for each team; and, in Major League Baseball and most other adult leagues, a regulation game consists of nine innings. The visiting team bats in the first half-inning, the ''top'' of the inning, derived from the position ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earned Run Average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine. Thus, a lower ERA is better. Runs resulting from passed balls or defensive errors (including pitchers' defensive errors) are recorded as unearned runs and omitted from ERA calculations. Origins Henry Chadwick is credited with devising the statistic, which caught on as a measure of pitching effectiveness after relief pitching came into vogue in the 1900s. Prior to 1900—and, in fact, for many years afterward—pitchers were routinely expected to pitch a complete game, and their win–loss record was considered sufficient in determining their effectiveness. After pitchers like James Otis Crandall and Charley Hall made names for themselves as relief specialists, gauging a pitcher's e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
