Michael Crotta
Michael John Crotta (born September 25, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Personal He is the son of Buddy Crotta and Tammy Crotta. Amateur career Crotta attended Martin County High School in Stuart, Florida. He was drafted in the 47th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft by the Philadelphia Phillies, however he opted to attend Florida Atlantic University, where he played baseball for the Owls under head coach Kevin Cooney. In the summer of 2005, he played for the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was next drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 17th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, beginning his professional career that year. Professional career Pittsburgh Pirates Crotta was assigned to Short-Season Williamsport, where he appeared in 11 games before earning a pro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hickory Crawdads
The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened in 1993 and has roughly 4,000 fixed seats. Established in 1993 as members of the South Atlantic League, the Crawdads were affiliated with the Chicago White Sox through 1998. They became a farm club of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1999 and won the South Atlantic League championship in 2002 and 2004. Hickory has been affiliated with the Texas Rangers since 2009. The Crawdads won a third SAL championship in 2015. They moved to the High-A East in 2021, but this was renamed the South Atlantic League in 2022. History Several minor league baseball teams known as the Hickory Rebels played in Hickory, North Carolina, intermittently from 1936 to 1960. Local businessman Don Beaver purchased the Gastonia Rangers and relocated them from Gastonia, Nort ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Florida, Jupiter, and Fort Pierce, Florida, Fort Pierce. FAU belongs to the 12-campus State University System of Florida and serves Miami metropolitan area, South Florida. Established as Florida's fifth public university in 1961, FAU has quickly grown to become one of the largest institutions in the state by enrollment. Florida Atlantic University is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". Florida Atlantic offers more than 180 undergraduate and graduate degree programs within its 10 colleges. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). FAU opened in 1964 as the fi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Derrek Lee
Derrek Leon Lee (born September 6, 1975), nicknamed "D-Lee", is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Lee played with the San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles and Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). Lee was a World Series champion with the Marlins in 2003, and he won the National League batting title in 2005. He was a two-time All-Star selection, and won the Gold Glove Award three times. Early life Lee was born on September 6, 1975, in Sacramento, California. Leon Lee is his father and Leron Lee is his uncle. Each of them played professional baseball in Japan. During his elementary years Lee lived in Japan, and during his high school years he often lived there during his summer breaks. He played Little League Baseball at Whitney Little League and graduated from El Camino High School in 1993. Professional career San Diego Padres Lee was drafted in the first round (14th overall) of the 1993 MLB dra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located on Chicago's North Side. The Cubs are one of two major league teams based in Chicago; the other, the Chicago White Sox, is a member of the American League (AL) Central division. The Cubs, first known as the White Stockings, were a founding member of the NL in 1876, becoming the Chicago Cubs in 1903. Throughout the club's history, the Cubs have played in a total of 11 World Series. The 1906 Cubs won 116 games, finishing 116–36 and posting a modern-era record winning percentage of , before losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox ("The Hitless Wonders") by four games to two. The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first major league team to play in three consecutive World Series, an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Indianapolis Indians
The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which opened in 1996. The Indians previously played at Owen J. Bush Stadium from 1931 to 1996 and at two versions of Washington Park from 1902 to 1931. Indianapolis is the second-oldest minor league franchise in American professional baseball (after the Rochester Red Wings). The team originated in 1902 as members of the American Association (AA), which was an independent league at the time but was granted Class A status in 1903. Since then, the Indians have played at the highest level of Minor League Baseball, though the terminology has changed. Indianapolis remained in the AA until the league disbanded after the 1962 season. They were briefly members of the International League (1963) and Pacific Coast League (1964–1968) before returning to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Scottsdale Scorpions
The Scottsdale Scorpions are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Scottsdale, Arizona, at Scottsdale Stadium, which is also the spring training facility of the San Francisco Giants. The team was established in 1992 and has retained the Scorpions nickname through several location changes. The Scorpions have won three league championships, most recently in 2015. History In the fall of 1994, the team gained worldwide media attention, when Michael Jordan joined the Scorpions after playing his first minor league baseball season with the Double-A Birmingham Barons in Birmingham, Alabama. The Scorpions won their first championship in 1996, against the Mesa Saguaros. The Scorpions reached the championship game in 2002, 2004, and 2005 but failed to win it. For the 2005 season, the team played its games in Surprise, Arizona, due to renovations of Scottsdale Stadium. The team returned to Scottsdale Stadium the following y ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arizona Fall League
The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled by many of the top prospects in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) who are assigned by their parent clubs. Structure The six teams of the AFL are organized in two three-team divisions. Each AFL team is affiliated with five teams in Major League Baseball (MLB), and each MLB team provides seven players from their Minor League Baseball affiliates, yielding 35-man rosters. Specific players are invited (not assigned) to play in the AFL by their parent club. The league provides an environment for top prospects to advance their development, in a setting that MLB governs and monitors, as opposed to other offseason leagues (such as the Puerto Rican Winter League) located outside of the contiguous United States. Player eligibility has changed o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lynchburg Hillcats
The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinnati Reds in 2010, and the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1995 to 2009. The Hillcats play home games at Calvin Falwell Field; refurbished and renamed in 2004, the stadium seats 4,291 fans. In May 2016, the franchise announced that they would rebrand after the season. When put to a fan vote for a new moniker with "Derechos," "Doves," "Lamb Chops," "Love Apples," and "River Runners" as options, a majority of fans voted to retain the Hillcats name. They did, however, unveil new logos and a different color scheme, consisting of seven hills green, Blue Ridge blue, and midnight blue, for the 2017 season. Division and league championships * 1896 State League Champions, No playoffs. * 1906 Virginia League Champions, No playoffs. * 1940 Virginia League Cha ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Altoona Curve
The Altoona Curve are a Minor League Baseball team based in Altoona, Pennsylvania, named after nearby Horseshoe Curve (but also alluding to the curveball, a type of pitch). The team plays in the Eastern League and is the Double-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Curve play in Peoples Natural Gas Field, located in Altoona; it was opened in 1999 and seats 7,210 people. History The Altoona Curve franchise began when Arizona and Tampa Bay were both awarded Major League Baseball franchises beginning in the 1998 season. The addition of these two teams had a domino effect through baseball with the expansion of not only the major leagues, but throughout Minor League Baseball as well. With this expansion, AA baseball received two new teams to begin play in the 1999 season. The Erie SeaWolves were already an established minor-league team with outstanding short-season attendance, and were quickly awarded one of the new franchises. The second spot in the new, larger Eastern League l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Williamsport Crosscutters
The Williamsport Crosscutters are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at Muncy Bank Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field. From 1994 to 2020, they were a Minor League Baseball team of the Class A Short Season New York–Penn League until MLB's reorganization of the minors after the 2020 season. Prior to this, they were affiliates of the Chicago Cubs (1994–1998), Pittsburgh Pirates (1999–2006), and Philadelphia Phillies (2007–2020). History Through 1993, the club was the Geneva Cubs, playing in Geneva, New York. For the 1994 season, the club moved to Williamsport, occupying a historic facility that had not been used for professional baseball for the previous two seasons. The club became known as the Williamsport Cubs, a Class A short season affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, retaining that name through 1998. In 1999, the team switched affiliations from the Chicago Cubs to the Pittsburgh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cape Cod Baseball League
The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousand former players who have gone on to play in the major leagues. History Pre-modern era Origins As early as the 1860s, baseball teams representing various Cape Cod towns and villages were competing against one another. The earliest newspaper account is of an 1867 game in Sandwich between the hometown "Nichols Club" and the visiting Cummaquid team. Though not formalized as a league, the games provided entertainment for residents and summer visitors. In 1885, a Fourth of July baseball game was held matching teams from Barnstable and Sandwich. According to contemporary accounts, the 1885 contest may have been at least the twelfth such annual game. By the late 19th century, an annual championship baseball tournament was being held each ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |