Michael Blazek
Michael Robert Blazek (born March 16, 1989) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Washington Nationals. Career Blazek attended Arbor View High School in Las Vegas. After originally signing with the Nevada Wolf Pack baseball, University of Nevada as an infielder, Blazek later switched to sign with the College of Southern Nevada. After throwing in front of scouts in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, including current Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, Blazek was selected in the 35th round, with the 1,068th overall selection, of the 2007 MLB draft. St. Louis Cardinals Blazek climbed his way through the minor leagues, originally as a starting pitcher. In 2011, Blazek made the Texas League All-Star Game after going 8–3 in the first half with a 5.31 ERA with Double-A Springfield Cardinals, Springfield. Blazek was converted to a relief pitcher in 2012, and in 40 game ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum. There are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and the closer. Traditionally, the pitcher also bats. Starting in 1973 with the American League(and later the National League) and spreading to further leagues throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the hitting duties of the pitcher have generally been given over to the position of designated hitter, a cause of some controversy. The Japanese Central Le ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
2007 MLB Draft
The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the first 25 rounds and was scheduled to be broadcast "live" from Orlando, Florida on television for the first time, on ESPN2 from 2:00pm to 6:00pm Eastern Daylight Time (1800–2200 UTC). Previously the conference call format draft was broadcast live, along with commentary, on both draft days exclusively from the MLB.com website as streaming audio. In total, the draft featured 50 rounds and 1453 selections. First Round Selections Supplemental First Round selections Compensation Picks Other notable players * Jordan Zimmermann, 2nd round, 67th overall by the Washington Nationals * Giancarlo Stanton, 2nd round, 76th overall by the Florida Marlins * Freddie Freeman, 2nd round, 78th overall by the Atlanta Braves * Zack Cozart, 2nd roun ... [...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]   |
|
Neil Walker (baseball)
Neil Martin Andrew Walker (born September 10, 1985) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2009–2015), New York Mets (2016–17), Milwaukee Brewers (2017), New York Yankees (2018), Miami Marlins (2019), and Philadelphia Phillies (2020). Walker was drafted by his hometown Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round of the 2004 MLB draft, and made his MLB debut with them in 2009. He won a Silver Slugger Award in 2014. Early life Walker, the son of former major league pitcher Tom Walker (1972–77), was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he grew up outside of Pittsburgh in the nearby North Hills suburbs and attended Pine-Richland High School. He graduated in 2004. He played catcher on the baseball team and a wide receiver for the football team. Walker, who also played on the Rams' basketball team until his senior year, was a two-time ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' Male Athlete of the Year. H ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Matt Garza
Matthew Scott Garza (born November 26, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2006 with the Minnesota Twins, and also played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers. With the Rays, Garza was named the American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player in 2008, and threw a no-hitter on July 26, 2010. Amateur career Born in Selma, California south of Fresno. Garza attended Washington Union High School in Easton, California where he starred in baseball and football. Garza continued with baseball at Fresno State. After struggling his first two years at Fresno State, Garza excelled in his junior season, averaging 10 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. Professional career Minnesota Twins Garza was the 25th pick in the first round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft, drafted by the Minnesota Twins. Entering 2006, Garza was ranked as the Minnesota Twins seventh-be ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Nick Franklin (baseball)
Nicholas Edward Franklin (born March 2, 1991) is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the first round, 27th pick overall, of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft. He attended Lake Brantley High School where he won numerous awards, including being named the player of the year by the ''Orlando Sentinel'' in 2009. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Los Angeles Angels. Amateur career In 2007 and 2008, Franklin played for the USA Baseball Youth National Team, which played in Canada and Venezuela. Franklin attended Lake Brantley High School. He took two months off of baseball after his junior season to weight train. On April 16, 2009 ''Orlando Sentinel'' named Franklin the "Boy Athlete of the Week". Franklin was named the "''Orlando Sentinel'' Baseball Player of the Year" in 2009 after he batted .538 with 11 hom ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Colorado Springs Sky Sox
The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockies (1993–2014), and Cleveland Indians (1988–1992). The Sky Sox won the PCL title in 1992 and 1995. History From 1950 to 1958, the original incarnation of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Class A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox in the Western League. The Sky Sox's nickname originated with their affiliation with the White Sox. The Pikes Peak region was without professional baseball for 30 years until 1988, when the Hawaii Islanders of the PCL relocated to Colorado Springs and became the second incarnation of the Sky Sox. From 1988 to 1992 the Sky Sox were the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. When Denver was awarded a major league franchise for the 1993 season, the new Colorado Rockies arranged for the Sky Sox to becom ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Nashville Sounds
The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music industry, specifically the "Nashville sound", a subgenre of country music which originated in the city and became popular in the mid-1950s. The team plays their home games at First Horizon Park, which opened in 2015 on the site of the historic Sulphur Dell ballpark. The Sounds previously played at Herschel Greer Stadium from its opening in 1978 until the end of the 2014 season. They are the oldest active professional sports franchise in Nashville. Established as an expansion team of the Double-A (baseball), Double-A Southern League (1964–present), Southern League in 1978, the Sounds led all of Minor League Baseball in attendance in their inaugural season and continued to draw the Southern League's largest ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
John Axford
John Berton Axford (born April 1, 1983), nicknamed "Ax Man", is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Axford made his MLB debut in 2009. He led the National League in saves in 2011, when he won the Rolaids Relief Man Award. Amateur career Raised in Port Dover, Ontario, Axford attended Assumption College School in nearby Brantford. Because the school did not have an interscholastic baseball program, he played for Port Dover Minor Baseball, then Team Ontario and Team Canada. His combined four-year totals with the three clubs were a 37–12 record, a 1.88 earned run average (ERA), 278 innings pitched, 432 strikeouts and 173 walks. The Seattle Mariners selected Axford in the seventh round (219th overall) of the 2001 Major League Baseball (MLB) dr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Player To Be Named Later
In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the season. Postponing a trade's final conditions or terms is often done for several reasons. First, the team receiving the PTBNL might not be certain which position they want to fill, so this type of deal gives them more time to figure it out. Second, this type of arrangement gives the team receiving the PTBNL more time to evaluate the available talent on the other team. Also, when a trade takes place during August, a player must clear waivers before he can be traded; the PTBNL concept allows the player's original team to make an attempt to have him clear waivers then finalize the deal, or (if the player cannot clear waivers) wait until the end of the season to trade him. When a PTBNL transaction occurs, the negotiating teams usually agree on a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are an American professional baseball team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Rangers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. In 2020, the Rangers moved to the new Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, Arlington after having played at Globe Life Park (now Choctaw Stadium) from 1994 to 2019. The team's name is shared with a Texas Ranger Division, law enforcement agency. The franchise was established in 1961, as the Washington Senators, an expansion team awarded to Washington, D.C., after the city's first AL ballclub, the History of the Washington Senators (1901–60), second Washington Senators, moved to Minnesota and became the Minnesota Twins, Twins (the Washington Senators (1891–99), original Washington Senators played primarily in the National League during the 1890s). After the season, the new Senators moved to Arlington, and debuted as the Rangers the followin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
|
Michael Wacha
Michael Joseph Wacha (; born July 1, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. He played college baseball for the Texas A&M Aggies. Wacha was selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2012 Major League Baseball draft from out of Texas A&M. After one year in the minor leagues, he made his major league debut on May 30, 2013. Following a strong regular season, Wacha earned the 2013 National League Championship Series Most Valuable Player Award, after yielding one run and eight hits in his first 21 postseason innings pitched. Early life Michael Wacha was born in Iowa City, Iowa, to Tom and Karen Wacha as the second of four children. He has one older brother, Charlie, one younger brother, Lucas and a younger sister, Brette. He grew up a Chicago Cubs fan. When Wacha was three years old, his family moved from Iowa City to Te ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |