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Matt Kata
Matthew John Kata (born March 14, 1978) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Houston Astros. Career Kata graduated from St. Ignatius High School in Cleveland, Ohio in 1996 and attended college at Vanderbilt University. In 1997 and 1998, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was selected by Arizona in the ninth round of the 1999 Major League Baseball Draft and made his major league debut for the Diamondbacks June 15, . He also played briefly for the Philadelphia Phillies in , and Texas Rangers in . Along with Robby Hammock, Alex Cintrón and Brandon Webb, he was one of the "Baby Backs" who were called up when a surge of injuries hit Diamondbacks veteran players in 2003. The Baby Backs were popular and contributed to a winning season, but ultimately failed to make t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2007 Texas Rangers Season
The Texas Rangers' 2007 season began with the team trying to win an AL West title for the first time since 1999. The Rangers finished in last place in the AL West with a 75-87 won-loss record, 19 games behind the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Preseason *Manager Buck Showalter was fired with three years remaining on his contract. The Rangers hired former Oakland Athletics third base coach Ron Washington to replace Showalter. *OF Gary Matthews Jr., OF/INF Mark DeRosa, OF Carlos Lee, and RHP Adam Eaton signed with other clubs via free agency. *OF Frank Catalanotto signed a multi-year contract, *RHP Éric Gagné and center fielder Kenny Lofton each signed one-year contracts to close games and play center field, respectively. *OF Sammy Sosa also signed a one-year contract with the team that drafted him in 1985, expected to be the Rangers' right fielder. The team entered the season with only one spot in the pitching rotation to fill, with Jamey Wright beating out Kameron Loe and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million endowment in the hopes that his gift and the greater work of the university would help to heal the sectional wounds inflicted by the Civil War. Vanderbilt enrolls approximately 13,800 students from the US and over 100 foreign countries. Vanderbilt is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Several research centers and institutes are affiliated with the university, including the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center, and Dyer Observatory. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, formerly part of the university, became a separate institution in 2016. With the exception of the off-campus observatory, all of the university's facilities are situated on it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Designated For Assignment
Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the player to the 40-man roster, place the player on waivers, trade the player, release the player, or outright the player from the 40-man roster into Minor League Baseball. Governance MLB player transactions are governed by ''The Official Professional Baseball Rules Book''. Rule 2(k), titled "Designated Players", along with Rule 10(g), titled "Player Limit", govern the transaction known as "designated for assignment". It is not specifically named as such, although within Rule 10(b), titled "The Procedures for Obtaining Waivers", the term "designate for assignment" is used. Media use of the phrase dates to at least 1976. Contractual moves Place the player on waivers Typically, a player is placed on waivers after being designated for assignmen ... [...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] |
Spring Training
Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spots, and gives established players practice time prior to competitive play. Spring training has always attracted fan attention, drawing crowds who travel to the warm climates of Arizona and Florida to enjoy the weather and watch their favorite teams play, and spring training usually coincides with spring break for many US students. Regardless of regular-season league affiliation, teams generally play their exhibition games against other clubs training in the same state. Teams that train in Arizona form the ''Cactus League'' and Florida-training clubs form the ''Grapefruit League''. Spring training typically starts in mid-February and continues until just before Opening Day of the regular season, which falls in the last week of March. In so ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-roster Invitee
A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and an expanded roster encompassing the active roster plus additional reserve players. Beginning with the , the active roster size is 26 players, and the expanded roster size is 40 players (the expanded roster is commonly referred to as the "40-man roster"). Historically, the active roster size was 25 players, with exceptions made in some seasons, most recently in 2020 when teams could have 28 active players. Active roster Since 1910, when teams were first allowed to carry players under contract in excess of those allowed to participate in regular season games, the latter has been called the "active roster." With exceptions through the years for varying economic conditions (primarily during World War I, the Great Depression, post-World War I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Arizona Republic
''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 on Sundays and $5 on Thanksgiving Day; prices are higher outside Arizona. History Early years The newspaper was founded May 19, 1890, under the name ''The Arizona Republican''. Dwight B. Heard, a Phoenix land and cattle baron, ran the newspaper from 1912 until his death in 1929. The paper was then run by two of its top executives, Charles Stauffer and W. Wesley Knorpp, until it was bought by Midwestern newspaper magnate Eugene C. Pulliam in 1946. Stauffer and Knorpp had changed the newspaper's name to ''The Arizona Republic'' in 1930, and also had bought the rival ''Phoenix Evening Gazette'' and ''Phoenix Weekly Gazette'', later known, respectively, as ''The Phoenix Gazette'' and the ''Arizona Business Gazette''. Pulliam era Pulliam, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brandon Webb
Brandon Tyler Webb (born May 9, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Webb pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 2003 through 2009, and, after multiple shoulder surgeries, signed with but did not play for the Texas Rangers in 2011. Webb attended the University of Kentucky, where he played college baseball for the Wildcats baseball team. During his MLB career, Webb won the 2006 National League Cy Young Award and was a three-time MLB All-Star. He was sidelined with injuries for much of 2009–2012 and, after several aborted comeback attempts, retired in 2013. He has the 18th highest Adjusted ERA+ of all major league players with 142. Amateur career Webb attended Paul G. Blazer High School in Ashland, Kentucky, and graduated in 1997. Afterwards, he attended the University of Kentucky, where he played for the Kentucky Wildcats baseball team. During his tenure with Kentucky, Webb set the all-time single season record for stri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alex Cintrón
Alexander Cintrón (born December 17, 1978) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball infielder and current hitting coach for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Washington Nationals. Playing career Arizona Diamondbacks Cintrón was drafted in the 36th round (1,103rd overall) of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He spent the 1997 season with the Arizona League Diamondbacks where he hit .197 with six doubles, a triple and 20 RBI in 43 games. He also appeared in one game with the Lethbridge Black Diamonds in the Pioneer League and went 1-for-3. In 1998, Cintrón spent the season with Rookie-League Lethbridge and hit .264 with 11 doubles, four triples, three home runs and 34 RBI in 67 games. Cintrón hit .307 with 25 doubles, four triples, three home runs and 64 RBI in 128 games with the Class-A Advanced High Desert Mavericks during the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robby Hammock
Robert Wade Hammock (born May 13, 1977) is an American professional baseball former catcher and current coach. He was formerly a longtime player and later quality control and catching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Playing career Hammock was drafted three times: in 1995 by the Florida Marlins, in 1997 by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and in 1998 by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He played five seasons at various minor league levels from to . In 2003, he played in 65 games for the major league club, batting .282 and starting 28 games at catcher. His numbers were good enough to earn him a place on the 2003 Topps All-Star Rookie Roster. Robby was the third catcher behind Chad Moeller and Rod Barajas for Arizona in 2003. Along with Matt Kata, Alex Cintrón, Brandon Webb, and others, he was one of the "Baby Backs" who were called up when a surge of injuries hit Diamondbacks veteran players in 2003. The Baby Backs were popular and contributed to a winning season, but ultimately failed t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1999 Major League Baseball Draft
The 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections Supplemental first round selections Compensation picks Other notable players *Carl Crawford, 2nd round, 52nd overall by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (All-Star) *Brandon Phillips, 2nd round, 57th overall by the Montreal Expos (All-Star) *Ryan Doumit, 2nd round, 59th overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates *Ryan Ludwick, 2nd round, 60th overall by the Oakland Athletics (All-Star) *John Lackey, 2nd round, 68th overall by the Anaheim Angels (All-Star) *Jack Taschner, 2nd round, 75th overall by the San Francisco Giants *Justin Morneau, 3rd round, 89th overall by the Minnesota Twins (All-Star) *Willie Bloomquist, 3rd round, 95th overall by the Seattle Mariners *Jon Rauch, 3rd round, 99th overall by the Chicago White Sox *Josh Bard, 3rd round, 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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