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Live-ball Era
The live-ball era, also referred to as the lively ball era, is the period in Major League Baseball beginning in (and continuing to the present day), contrasting with the pre-1920 period known as the "dead-ball era". The name "live-ball era" comes from the dramatic rise in offensive statistics, a direct result of a series of rule changes (introduced in 1920) that were colloquially said to have made the ball more "lively". The live-ball era was the era in which baseball regained relevance and exploded in popularity. Dead-ball era (pre-1920) Prior to the rule changes in 1920, the same ball would often be used throughout an entire game, only being replaced if it began to unravel. Pitchers were also allowed to deface or scuff the ball, apply foreign substances to it (such as dirt or spit), and cut into the ball with an emery board. Balls would not even be replaced after a foul ball or home run, with fans instead throwing the ball back onto the field to be re-used. As a result, the ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. The NL and AL were formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively. Beginning in 1903, the two leagues signed the National Agreement and cooperated but remained legally separate entities until 2000, when they merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball. MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. It is also included as one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. Baseball's first all-professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was founded in 1869. Before that, some teams had secretly paid certain players. The first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one te ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his handling of the Black Sox Scandal, in which he expelled eight members of the Chicago White Sox from organized baseball for conspiring to lose the 1919 World Series and repeatedly refused their reinstatement requests. His firm actions and iron rule over baseball in the near quarter-century of his commissionership are generally credited with restoring public confidence in the game. Landis was born in Millville, Ohio. His given name was a variant spelling of the site of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, a major battle of the American Civil War in which his father had been wounded. Raised in Indiana, Landis became a lawyer, and then personal secretary to Walter Q. Gresham, the new United States Secretary of State, in 1893. He returned to private ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denny McLain
Dennis Dale McLain (born March 29, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played for ten seasons in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher, most prominently as a member of the Detroit Tigers. In 1968, McLain became the last Major League Baseball pitcher to win 30 or more games during a season (with a record of 31–6) — a feat accomplished by only 11 players in the 20th century. As a player, McLain was brash and outspoken, sometimes creating controversy by criticizing teammates and fans with little provocation. His stellar performance at the beginning of his major league career included two Cy Young awards and an American League MVP award. His success in baseball stood in marked contrast to his personal life; he associated with organized crime and was eventually convicted on charges of embezzlement, for which he served time in prison. Professional playing career The rise to stardom McLain was born in Markham, Illinois, and attended Mt. Carmel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dizzy Dean
Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974), also known as Jerome Herman Dean (both the 1910 and 1920 Censuses show his name as "Jay"), was an American professional baseball pitcher. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Browns. A brash and colorful personality, Dean is the last National League (NL) pitcher to win 30 games in one season (). After his playing career, Dean became a popular television sports commentator. Dean was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. When the Cardinals reopened the team Hall of Fame in 2014, he was inducted in the inaugural class. Early life Born on January 16, 1910, in Lucas, Arkansas, Dean attended public school only through second grade. He earned his nickname in 1929 in San Antonio, Texas, while in the U.S. Army and pitching for the Fort Sam Houston baseball team. The 19-year-old Dean was on the mound as they took on the MLB's Chicago White Sox ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lefty Grove
Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's Philadelphia Athletics and Boston Red Sox. One of the greatest pitchers in history, Grove led the American League in wins in four separate seasons, in strikeouts seven years in a row, and had the league's lowest earned run average a record nine times. Over the course of the three years from 1929 to 1931, he twice won the pitcher's Triple Crown, leading the league in wins, strikeouts, and ERA, while amassing a 79–15 record and leading the Athletics to three straight AL championships. Overall, Grove won 300 games in his 17-year MLB career. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. Early life Grove was born in Lonaconing, Maryland, one of eight children of John Robert Grove (1865–1957) and Emma Catherine Beeman (1872†... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ichiro Suzuki
, also known mononymously as , is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder who played professionally for 28 seasons. He played nine years of his career with the Orix BlueWave of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), where he began his career, and 14 with the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). After playing the first 12 years of his MLB career for the Mariners, Suzuki played two and a half seasons with the New York Yankees and three with the Miami Marlins. He returned to the Mariners for his final two seasons. In his combined playing time in the NPB and MLB, Suzuki received 17 consecutive selections both as an All-Star and Gold Glove winner, won nine league batting titles, and was named most valuable player (MVP) four times. In the NPB, he won seven consecutive batting titles and three consecutive Pacific League MVP Awards. In 2001, Suzuki became the first Japanese-born position player to be posted and signed to an MLB club. He led the American League (AL ... [...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] |
Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H), also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches or passes first base after hitting the ball into fair territory with neither the benefit of an error nor a fielder's choice. Scoring a hit To achieve a hit, the batter must reach first base before any fielder can either tag him with the ball, throw to another player protecting the base before the batter reaches it, or tag first base while carrying the ball. The hit is scored the moment the batter reaches first base safely; if he is put out while attempting to stretch his hit to a double or triple or home run on the same play, he still gets credit for a hit (according to the last base he reached safely on the play). If a batter reaches first base because of offensive interference by a preceding runner (including if a preceding runner is hit by a batted ball), he is also credited with a hit. Types of hits A hit for one base is called a single, for two ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tris Speaker
Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player. Considered one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), he compiled a career batting average of .345 ( sixth all-time). His 792 career doubles represent an MLB career record. His 3,514 hits are fifth in the all-time hits list. Defensively, Speaker holds career records for assists, double plays, and unassisted double plays by an outfielder. His fielding glove was known as the place "where triples go to die." After playing in the minor leagues in Texas and Arkansas, Speaker debuted with the Boston Red Sox in 1907. He became the regular center fielder by 1909 and led the Red Sox to World Series championships in 1912 and 1915. In 1915, Speaker's batting average dropped to .322 from .338 the previous season; he was traded to the Cleveland Indians when he refused to take a pay cut. As player-manager for Cleveland, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ty Cobb
Tyrus Raymond Cobb (December 18, 1886 – July 17, 1961), nicknamed "the Georgia Peach", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) center fielder. He was born in rural Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team's player-manager (baseball), player-manager, and finished his career with the History of the Philadelphia Athletics, Philadelphia Athletics. In 1936, Cobb received the most votes of any player on the 1936 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting, inaugural ballot for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes (98.2%); no other player received a higher percentage of votes until Tom Seaver in 1992. In 1999, the ''Sporting News'' ranked Cobb third on its list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players." Cobb is widely credited with setting 90 MLB records during his career. His combined total of 4,065 runs scored and runs batted in (after adjusting for home runs) is still the highest ever produced by any m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mel Ott
Melvin Thomas Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958), nicknamed "Master Melvin", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from through . He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Though unusually slight in stature for a power hitter, at , , Ott led the National League in home runs a then record six times. He was an All-Star for 11 consecutive seasons, and was the first National League player to surpass 500 career home runs. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1951. Early life Ott was born in Gretna, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. Despite his average height, he quickly established himself as a gifted athlete, especially in baseball. During high school, he played on a semi-pro team three or four days a week. He already showed considerable power at a young age and was getting paid for it. His team had a tradition of passing the hat whenever a player hit a home run that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, which earned him his nickname "the Iron Horse". He was an Major League Baseball All-Star Game, All-Star seven consecutive times, a Triple Crown (baseball), Triple Crown winner once, an American League (AL) Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, Most Valuable Player twice, and a member of six World Series List of World Series champions, champion teams. He had a career .340 batting average (baseball), batting average, .632 Slugging percentage, slugging average, and a .447 on-base percentage, on base average. He hit 493 home runs and had 1,995 run batted in, runs batted in (RBI). He still has the highest ratio of runs scored plus runs batted in per 100 plate appearances (35.08) and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
