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Jim Davenport
James Houston Davenport (August 17, 1933 – February 18, 2016) was an American Major League Baseball infielder, primarily a third baseman, who played his entire career—over 1,500 games—with the San Francisco Giants (1958–1970). He also managed the Giants (), served as a coach for them for nine years over three different terms, and spent 51 years in all with the San Francisco organization. The right-handed batter and thrower, nicknamed "Peanut" or "Peanuts" as a child by his grandfather, was listed as tall and . Early life Davenport was born and grew up in Siluria, Alabama, also the birthplace of future teammate Willie Kirkland, and not far from Willie Mays' hometown. Growing up, Davenport had wanted to play football for the University of Alabama. However, Davenport married after high school and Alabama had a policy of not recruiting married players. Instead, he earned a football scholarship to the University of Southern Mississippi (then called Mississippi Southern Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Third Baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system used to record defensive plays, the third baseman is assigned the number 5. Third base is known as the "hot corner", because the third baseman is often the infielder who stands closest to the batter—roughly 90–120 feet away, but even closer if a bunt is expected. Most right-handed hitters tend to hit the ball hard in this direction. A third baseman must possess good hand-eye coordination and quick reactions to catch batted balls whose speed can exceed . The third base position requires a strong and accurate arm, as the third baseman often makes long throws to first base or quick ones to second base to start a double play. As with middle infielders, right-handed throwing players are standard at the position because they do not need to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager (commonly referred to as the manager) is the equivalent of a head coach who is responsible for overseeing and making final decisions on all aspects of on-field team strategy, lineup selection, training and instruction. Managers are typically assisted by a staff of assistant coaches whose responsibilities are specialized. Field managers are typically not involved in off-field personnel decisions or long-term club planning, responsibilities that are instead held by a team's general manager. Duties The manager chooses the batting order and starting pitcher before each game, and makes substitutions throughout the game – among the most significant being those decisions regarding when to bring in a relief pitcher. How much control a manager takes in a game's strategy varies from manager to manager and from game to game. Some managers control pitch selection, defensive positioning, decisions to bunt, steal, pitch out, etc., while others desig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Don Drysdale
Donald Scott Drysdale (July 23, 1936 – July 3, 1993) was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. A right-handed pitcher for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers for his entire career in Major League Baseball, Drysdale was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Drysdale won the Cy Young Award and in pitched a record six consecutive shutouts and consecutive scoreless innings. One of the most dominant pitchers of the late 1950s to mid 1960s, Drysdale stood tall and was not afraid to throw pitches near batters to keep them off balance. After his playing career, he became a radio/television broadcaster. Early life Drysdale was born in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, and attended Van Nuys High School, where one of his classmates was actor Robert Redford. Playing career Pitching for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers, he teamed with Sandy Koufax during the late 1950s to middle 1960s to form one of the most dominating pitching duos in histor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Batting Average (baseball)
In baseball, batting average (BA) is determined by dividing a player's hits by their total at-bats. It is usually rounded to three decimal places and read without the decimal: A player with a batting average of .300 is "batting three-hundred". If necessary to break ties, batting averages could be taken beyond the .001 measurement. In this context, .001 is considered a "point", such that a .235 batter is 5 points higher than a .230 batter. History Henry Chadwick, an English statistician raised on cricket, was an influential figure in the early history of baseball. In the late 19th century he adapted the concept behind the cricket batting average to devise a similar statistic for baseball. Rather than simply copy cricket's formulation of runs scored divided by outs, he realized that hits divided by at bats would provide a better measure of individual batting ability. This is because while in cricket, scoring runs is almost entirely dependent on one's batting skill, in baseball ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bart Starr
Bryan Bartlett Starr (January 9, 1934 – May 26, 2019) was an American professional football quarterback and head coach for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at the University of Alabama, and was selected by the Packers in the 17th round of the 1956 NFL Draft, where he played for them until 1971. Starr is the only quarterback in NFL history to lead a team to three consecutive league championships (1965– 1967). He led his team to victories in the first two Super Bowls: I and II. As the Packers' head coach, he was less successful, compiling a 52–76–3 () record from 1975 through 1983. Starr was named the Most Valuable Player of the first two Super Bowls and during his career earned four Pro Bowl selections. He won the league MVP award in 1966. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Packers Hall of Fame in 1977. Starr has the highest postseason passer rating (104.8) of any quarterback in NFL ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Southern Mississippi
The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, master's, specialist, and doctoral degrees. The university is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Founded on March 30, 1910, the university is a dual campus institution, with its main campus located in Hattiesburg and its other large campus – Gulf Park – located in Long Beach. It has five additional teaching and research sites, including the John C. Stennis Space Center and the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL). Originally called the Mississippi Southerners, the Southern Miss athletic teams became the Golden Eagles in 1972. The school's colors, black and gold, were selected by a student body vote shortly after the school was founded. While mascots, names, customs, and the campus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University Of Alabama
The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the public List of colleges and universities in Alabama, universities in Alabama as well as the University of Alabama System. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". The university offers programs of study in 13 academic divisions leading to bachelor's, master's, Ed.S., education specialist, and doctorate, doctoral degrees. The only publicly supported University of Alabama School of Law, law school in the state is at UA. Other academic programs unavailable elsewhere in Alabama include doctoral programs in anthropology, communication and information sciences, metallurgical engineering, music, Romance languages, and social work. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with possession of the oval-shaped football, attempts to advance down the field by running with the ball or passing it, while the defense, the team without possession of the ball, aims to stop the offense's advance and to take control of the ball for themselves. The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs or plays; if they fail, they turn over the football to the defense, but if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs to continue the drive. Points are scored primarily by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponent's goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins. American football evolved in the United States, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Mays
Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-time lists, including those of ''The Sporting News'' and ESPN. Mays played in the National League (NL) between 1951 and 1973 for the New York/San Francisco Giants and New York Mets. Mays is the oldest living member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1948, playing with them until the Giants signed him once he graduated from high school in 1950, then won the Rookie of the Year Award in 1951 after hitting 20 home runs to help the Giants win their first pennant in 14 years. After spending most of the next two years in the United States Army during the Korean War, he was named the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1954 after winning the batting title with a .345 avera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Kirkland
Willie Charles Kirkland (born February 17, 1934) is a retired American professional baseball player. A right fielder and a powerful left-handed hitter, Kirkland appeared in 1,149 games in Major League Baseball over nine seasons for the San Francisco Giants (1958–1960), Cleveland Indians (1961–1963), Baltimore Orioles (1964) and Washington Senators (1964–1966). He also spent six seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball as a member of the Hanshin Tigers during his 20-year pro career. Born in Siluria, Alabama, he grew up in Detroit. Baseball career Kirkland signed with the New York Giants in 1952 upon his graduation from Detroit's Northwestern High School. He threw right-handed, stood tall and weighed . A prodigious minor-league slugger, he rose through the organization over his first four seasons, three times exceeding the 35-home run mark, and winning a batting title and runs batted in championship on the way. Kirkland then spent all of 1957 in the military. When he muster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
