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Joey Devine
Joseph Neal Devine (born September 19, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and Oakland Athletics. Baseball career Atlanta Braves Devine was the Braves' first selection (27th overall) in the first round of the 2005 Major League Baseball draft out of North Carolina State University, where he had set the Wolfpack record for saves with 24 and made the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team three times. After being drafted, Devine spent only two months in the minor leagues, pitching with the Single-A Advanced Myrtle Beach Pelicans and the Double-A Mississippi Braves, before being called up to the major leagues on August 20. He was the first player in his draft class to make his MLB debut. Devine encountered early struggles once being called up to the major leagues, becoming the first pitcher in major league history to allow a grand slam in each of his first two games. Braves manager Bobby Cox showed f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Relief Pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather delays or pinch hitter substitutions. Relief pitchers are further divided informally into various roles, such as Closer (baseball), closers, setup men, middle relief pitchers, left-handed specialist, left/right-handed specialists, and long relievers. Whereas starting pitchers usually pitch count, throw so many pitches in a single game that they must rest several days before pitching in another, relief pitchers are expected to be more flexible and typically pitch in more games with a shorter time period between pitching appearances but with fewer innings pitched per appearance. A team's staff of relievers is normally referred to Metonymy, metonymically as a team's bullpen, which refers to the area where th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball America
''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form of an editorial and stats website, a monthly magazine, a podcast network, and three annual reference book titles. It also regularly produces lists of the top prospects in the sport, and covers aspects of the game from a scouting and player-development point of view. Industry insiders look to BA for its expertise and insights related to annual and future MLB Drafts classes. The publication's motto is "The most trusted source in baseball." History ''Baseball America'' was founded in 1981 and has since grown into a full-service media company. Founder Allan Simpson began writing the magazine from Canada, originally calling it the ''All-America Baseball News''. By 1983, Simpson moved the magazine to Durham, North Carolina, after it was purcha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blaine Boyer
Blaine Thomas Boyer (born July 11, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers. Baseball career Boyer attended George Walton Comprehensive High School in Marietta, Georgia. The Atlanta Braves selected him in the third round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft. His first season of pro baseball was with the rookie league team the Gulf Coast Braves, where he went 1–3 with a 2.51 Earned run average (ERA). Atlanta Braves Boyer went 4–5 with a 4.52 ERA and 57 strikeouts with the Danville Braves in 2001. The next year, he played with the Class A team the Macon Braves and led the bullpen with 73 strikeouts. In 2003, Boyer stayed with the Macon Braves when they moved to Rome. That year he finished ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Horacio Ramírez
Horacio Ramírez (born November 24, 1979) is a Mexican-American baseball pitcher. He is currently the bullpen coach for Team México in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. His parents emigrated from Jalostotitlán, Jalisco, México. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and in the KBO League for the Kia Tigers. Baseball career Atlanta Braves Ramírez made his debut for the Atlanta Braves in , when he finished the season 12–4 with a 4.00 ERA in 29 starts. At the end of his rookie season, he was selected to thBaseball Digest All-Star Rookie team He got off to an excellent start in , posting a 2–4 with a 2.28 ERA in his first nine starts, before he suffered a shoulder injury and was placed on the disabled list on May 30. While initially thought to be a minor injury, Ramírez was not activated until September 26. In , Ramírez finished with a record of 11–9 and an ERA of 4.63 in 33 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Closer (baseball)
In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer (abbreviated CL), is a relief pitcher who specializes in getting the final outs in a close game when his team is leading. The role is often assigned to a team's best reliever. Before the 1990s, pitchers in similar roles were referred to as a fireman, short reliever, and stopper. A small number of closers have won the Cy Young Award. Eight closers have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Lee Smith, Bruce Sutter and Hoyt Wilhelm. Usage A closer is generally a team's best reliever and designated to pitch the last few outs of games when his team is leading by a margin of three runs or fewer. Rarely does a closer enter with his team losing or in a tie game. A closer's effectiveness has traditionally been measured by the save, an official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1969. Over time, closers have become on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richmond Braves
The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the R-Braves, they played their home games at a stadium called The Diamond on Richmond's Northside built for them in 1985, and before then Parker Field on the same site. The franchise moved to Gwinnett County, Georgia in 2009 to play in the newly built Coolray Field as the Gwinnett Braves. The R-Braves came to Richmond in 1966 after the Braves' top affiliate, the Atlanta Crackers, moved to Virginia. The then-Milwaukee Braves had bought the Crackers as part of their planned move to Atlanta in 1965; under MLB rules of the day, they bought the Crackers in order to obtain the major league rights to Atlanta. However, an injunction forced the Braves to play a lame-duck season in Milwaukee in 1965, leaving them to operate the Crackers in Atlanta f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chris Burke (baseball)
Christopher Alan Burke (born March 11, 1980) is a former Major League Baseball player, playing primarily for the Houston Astros, though he also played for the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres. He is best remembered for hitting a series-ending walk-off home run in Game 4 of the 2005 National League Division Series. College Burke played baseball at St. Albert the Great Elementary School and St. Xavier High School in Louisville, Kentucky and the University of Tennessee, where he was named to three All-America teams. In 1999, Burke was selected as a Freshman 2nd team All-American at second base. In 2000, in addition to being named a 3rd team All-American, he was named to the All-Southeastern Conference team at second base. In 2001, his junior year, Burke moved to shortstop and helped the Volunteers make an appearance in the College World Series by hitting .435 with 20 home runs and 49 stolen bases, being named to the CWS all-tournament team. He was a 1st team All-American ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after spending their first 51 seasons in the National League (NL). The Astros were established as the Houston Colt .45s and entered the National League as an expansion team in along with the New York Mets. The current name, reflecting Houston's role as the host of the Johnson Space Center, was adopted three years later, when they moved into the Astrodome, the first domed sports stadium and the so-called "Eighth Wonder of the World." The Astros moved to a new stadium called Minute Maid Park in 2000. The Astros played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993, then the NL Central division from 1994 to 2012, before being moved to the AL West as part of a MLB realignment in 2013. The Astros posted their first winning record in 1972 and made the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walk-off Home Run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will not have an opportunity to score any more runs, there is no need to finish the inning and the teams can walk off the field immediately. The winning runs must still be counted at home plate. History and usage of the term Although the concept of a game-ending home run is as old as baseball, the adjective "walk-off" attained widespread use only in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The first known usage of the word in print appeared in the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' on April 21, 1988, Section D, Page 1. ''Chronicle'' writer Lowell Cohn wrote an article headlined "What the Eck?" about Oakland reliever Dennis Eckersley's unusual way of speaking: "For a translation, I go in search of Eckersley. I also want to know why he calls short home runs 'stre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2005 National League Division Series
The 2005 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 2005 National League playoffs, began on Tuesday, October 4, and ended on Sunday, October 9, with the champions of the three NL divisions—along with a "wild card" team—participating in two best-of-five series. They were: *(1) St. Louis Cardinals (Central Division champions, 100–62) vs. (3) San Diego Padres (Western Division champions, 82–80): Cardinals win series, 3–0. *(2) Atlanta Braves (Eastern Division champions, 90–72) vs. (4) Houston Astros (Wild Card, 89–73): Astros win series, 3–1. The Cardinals and Astros went on to meet in the NL Championship Series (NLCS). The Astros became the National League champion, and lost to the American League champion Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series. Matchups St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres Atlanta Braves vs. Houston Astros St. Louis vs. San Diego Game 1 Busch Stadium (II) in St. Louis, Missouri It was a matchup between Jake ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Cox
Robert Joe Cox (born May 21, 1941) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Cox played for the New York Yankees and managed the Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays. He is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. He recorded a 100-win season six times, a record matched only by Joe McCarthy. Cox first managed the Braves from 1978 to 1981, and then managed the Blue Jays from 1982 to 1985. He rejoined the Braves in 1986 as a general manager. He moved back to the manager's role during the 1990 season and stayed there until his retirement following the 2010 season. Cox led the Atlanta Braves to the World Series championship in . The Braves have since retired No. 6 in his honor. Cox holds the all-time record for ejections in MLB with 158 (plus an additional three post-season ejections), a record previously held by John McGraw. He also leads the league in playoff appearances as manager with sixteen, and he was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Slam (baseball)
In baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners ("bases loaded"), thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to ''The Dickson Baseball Dictionary'', the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a ''grand slam'' involves taking all the possible tricks. The word ''slam'', by itself, usually is connected with a loud sound, particularly of a door being closed with excess force; thus, ''slamming the door'' on one's opponent(s), in addition to the bat slamming the ball into a home run. Notable highlights Players Roger Connor is believed to have been the first major league player to hit a grand slam, on September 10, 1881, for the Troy Trojans at Riverfront Park in Rensselaer, New York. Although Charlie Gould hit one for the Boston Red Stockings of the National Association (NA) in 1871, the NA is not recognized by Major League Baseball (MLB) as a major league. Alex Rodriguez has 25 career gra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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