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Matt Franco
Matthew Neil Franco (born August 19, 1969 in Santa Monica, California) is an American former professional baseball player who played first base in the major leagues from 1995 to 2003, and in Nippon Professional Baseball from 2004 to 2006. Early career Franco grew up in Westlake Village, California, playing youth soccer with future USMNT players Eric Wynalda and Cobi Jones. He was a standout baseball player at Westlake High and was drafted out of high school. Franco started his professional career in 1987 with the Rookie League Wytheville Cubs in the Appalachian League. He started the 1988 season in short season rookie ball, again with the Wytheville Cubs. He hit .392 and was promoted to the Low Level A ball New York/Penn League. He played for the Winston-Salem Spirit of the Carolina League in 1991. Franco moved up to Double-A and for the next two seasons played for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliates in the Southern League, first with the Charlotte Knights in 1992, and then t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utility Player
In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The term has gained prominence in all sports due to its use in fantasy leagues, but in rugby union and rugby league, it is commonly used by commentators to recognize a player's versatility. The use of this term to describe a player may in some circumstances be a backhanded compliment, as it suggests the player is not good enough to be considered a specialist in one position. Association football In football, like other sports, a utility player can play in several positions in the outfield. The most common dual role is when a central defender is played in the left or right fullback position. This often occurs due to injuries to the starting fullback players. As central defenders are usually taller, slower, and less technically adept in c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Appalachian League
The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from June to August. The league is part of Major League Baseball and USA Baseball's Prospect Development Pipeline. Between 1911 and 2020, the Appalachian League operated as part of Minor League Baseball and various of its teams were affiliated with Major League Baseball franchises. It operated as a Class D league during four stints through 1962, then was classified as a Rookie league from 1963 to 2020. History The original Appalachian League existed only for four seasons from 1911 to 1914 and was classified as a Class D circuit. All teams were independent with no Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliation. It consisted of the Asheville Moonshiners, Bristol Boosters, Cleveland Counts, Johnson City Soldiers, Knoxville Appalachians, and Morr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
List Of Major League Baseball Players Named In The Mitchell Report
The List of Major League Baseball players named in the Mitchell Report includes active and former Major League players as well as free agents. The Mitchell Report is the result of former US Senator George J. Mitchell's ( D– ME) 20-month investigation into performance-enhancing drug use in Major League Baseball (MLB). It was released December 13, 2007. The following is a list of the Major League Baseball players named in the Mitchell Report. Inclusion on the list does not necessarily mean the player was involved in illegal activity. In some instances, insufficient evidence was provided to draw a conclusion, and some players were mentioned in other contexts. The Mitchell Report also stated that interviews were requested of five MLB players who had spoken out publicly on the steroid issue. Of these players, only one, Frank Thomas, was willing to be interviewed. The Mitchell Report stated that there was no evidence that any of these five had used performance-enhancing drugs. Cu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bing Russell
Neil Oliver "Bing" Russell (May 5, 1926 – April 8, 2003) was an American actor and Class A minor-league baseball club owner. He was the father of Hollywood actor Kurt Russell and grandfather of ex–major league baseball player Matt Franco and actor Wyatt Russell. Early life Russell was born in Brattleboro, Vermont, the son of Ruth Stewart (née Vogel) and Warren Oliver Russell. He always wanted to become an actor and studied drama at Brattleboro High School. He grew up around the New York Yankees’ spring training camp in St. Petersburg, Florida, in the 1930s and 1940s, where his father ran a floatplane service. As a result, he was an unofficial mascot of the New York Yankees, and became friendly with players including Lefty Gomez and Joe DiMaggio. When Lou Gehrig was weakened by illness, he gave Russell the bat he used to hit his last home run before retiring. Russell graduated from Dartmouth College with a business degree. Career Russell made his debut in the fil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurt Russell
Kurt Vogel Russell (born March 17, 1951) is an American actor. He began acting on television at the age of 12 in the western series ''The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters'' (1963–1964). In the late 1960s, he signed a ten-year contract with The Walt Disney Company, where he starred as Dexter Riley in films, such as '' The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes'' (1969), '' Now You See Him, Now You Don't'' (1972), and '' The Strongest Man in the World'' (1975). According to Robert Osborne of Turner Classic Movies, he became the studio's top star of the 1970s.Introduction by Robert Osborne to the Turner Classic Movies premiere of ''The Barefoot Executive'', April 13, 2007. Russell was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his performance in Mike Nichols' '' Silkwood'' (1983). In the 1980s, he starred in several films directed by John Carpenter, including anti-hero roles such as army hero-turned-robber Snake Plissken in the futuristic action fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larry Franco
Larry Joseph Franco (born April 5, 1949) is an American film producer. He has also served as an actor, second unit director and assistant director. He is the father of former Atlanta Braves baseball player Matt Franco and Phronsie Franco. He is the ex-brother-in-law of actor Kurt Russell and the ex-son-in-law of actor Bing Russell. Franco attended UCLA film school. Filmography He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted. Assistant director * '' March or Die'' (1977) * '' The Rose'' (1979) First assistant director * '' Elvis'' (1979) (TV movie) * '' The Fog'' (1980) * '' Cutter's Way'' (1981) * ''Escape from New York'' (1981) * '' The Thing'' (1982) * ''Christine'' (1983) * '' Starman'' (1984) * ''Big Trouble in Little China'' (1986) * '' Prince of Darkness'' (1987) * ''They Live'' (1988) Second assistant director * '' Harry and Walter Go to New York'' (1976) * '' Black Sunday'' (1977) * ''Straight Time'' (1978) * '' Foul Play'' (1978) * ''Apocalypse Now ''Apoc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simi Valley, California
Simi Valley (; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in Simi Valley (valley), the valley of the same name in the southeast region of Ventura County, California, United States. Simi Valley is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. The city sits next to Thousand Oaks, California, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, California, Moorpark, and Chatsworth, Los Angeles, Chatsworth. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 126,356, up from 124,243 in 2010. The city of Simi Valley is surrounded by the Santa Susana Mountains and the Simi Hills, west of the San Fernando Valley, and northeast of the Conejo Valley. It grew as a commuter town, commuter bedroom community for the cities in the Los Angeles area, and the San Fernando Valley when a freeway was built over the Santa Susana Pass. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where the Ronald Reagan, former president was buried in 2004, is in Simi Valley. The Reagan Li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitchell Report (baseball)
The ''Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball'', informally known as the Mitchell Report, is the result of former Democratic Party (United States), Democratic United States Senate, United States Senator from Maine George J. Mitchell's 20-month investigation into the Doping in sport, use of anabolic steroids and Growth hormone treatment, human growth hormone (HGH) in Major League Baseball (MLB). The 409-page report, released on December 13, 2007, covers the history of the use of illegal performance-enhancing substances by players and the effectiveness of the Major League Baseball drug policy, MLB Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The report also advances certain recommendations regarding the handling of past illegal drug use and future prevention practices. In addition, the report names 89 MLB players who are alleged to have use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mariano Rivera
Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, from 1995 to 2013. Nicknamed "Mo" and "Sandman", he spent most of his career as a relief pitcher and served as the Yankees' closer for 17 seasons. A thirteen-time All-Star and five-time World Series champion, he is MLB's career leader in saves (652) and games finished (952). Rivera won five American League (AL) Rolaids Relief Man Awards and three Delivery Man of the Year Awards, and he finished in the top three in voting for the AL Cy Young Award four times. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of its class of 2019 in his first year of eligibility, and was the first and to date only player ever to be elected unanimously by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). Raised in the modest Panamanian fishing village of Puerto Caimito, Rivera was an amateur player until he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The Cubs play their home games at Principal Park, which opened in 1992. They previously played at Sec Taylor Stadium from 1969 to 1991. The club was established as the Iowa Oaks of the Triple-A American Association in 1969. Iowa took on the Cubs moniker in 1982. They joined the Triple-A Pacific Coast League in 1998 following the dissolution of the American Association after the 1997 season. In conjunction with MLB's reorganization of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Cubs were shifted to the Triple-A East, which was renamed the International League in 2022. The only league title in franchise history is the 1993 American Association championship. History American Association (1969–1997) Triple-A Minor League Baseball came to Iowa's capital city in 196 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orlando Cubs
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures released in July 2017, making it the 23rd-largest metropolitan area in the United States, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the Southern United States, and the third-largest metropolitan area in Florida behind Miami and Tampa. Orlando had a population of 307,573 in the 2020 census, making it the 67th-largest city in the United States, the fourth-largest city in Florida, and the state's largest inland city. Orlando is one of the most-visited cities in the world primarily due to tourism, major events, and convention traffic; in 2018, the city drew more than 75 million visitors. The Orlando International Airport (MCO) is the 13th-busiest airport in the United States and the 29th-busiest in the world. The two largest and most internat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlotte Knights
The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 2014 and is located in Uptown Charlotte. The team previously played at Knights Park (1976–1988), Knights Castle (1989), and Knights Stadium (1990–2013). Established as a Double-A franchise of the Southern League in 1976, the team was known as the Charlotte Orioles, or Charlotte O's, through 1987. The O's won the Southern League championship twice: in 1980 and 1984 as the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They were rebranded as the Knights in 1988. The Knights were replaced by a Triple-A International League team in 1993 in conjunction with the expansion of Major League Baseball (MLB). The Triple-A Knights carried on the history of the Double-A team that preceded them. In conjunction with MLB's restructuring of Minor Lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
