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Nick Loftin
Nicholas James Loftin (born September 25, 1998) is an American professional baseball infielder for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023. Amateur career Loftin attended W. B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he played baseball. As a senior in 2017, he batted .465 with three home runs alongside going 11–4 with a 1.10 ERA on the mound. He originally committed to play college baseball at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, but later switched his commitment to Baylor University. Undrafted in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft, he enrolled at Baylor. In 2018, Loftin's freshman year at Baylor, he appeared in 55 games (making 53 starts), batting .306 with six home runs and 36 RBIs, earning Freshman All-American honors alongside being named to the Big 12 Conference All-Second Team and All-Freshman Team. As a sophomore in 2019, Loftin started 53 games in which he hit .323 with six home runs, 41 RBIs, and 18 doubles. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omaha Storm Chasers
The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at Werner Park, which opened in 2011. The team previously played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium from 1969 to 2010. Omaha has been the only Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals since their inception in the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion. They were originally known as the Omaha Royals when established as a member of the Triple-A American Association in 1969. They joined the Pacific Coast League (PCL) in 1998 and were briefly known as the Omaha Golden Spikes (1999–2001) before reverting to their Royals moniker. Omaha became the Storm Chasers in 2011. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the team was placed in the Triple-A East, which rebranded as the International League in 2022. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
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] |
40-man Roster
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
International League
The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball (MLB). The league traces its roots to 1884, while the modern IL began in 1912. Following MLB's reorganization of the minor leagues in 2021, it operated as the Triple-A East for one season before switching back to its previous moniker in 2022. It is so named because throughout its history the International League had teams in Canada and Cuba as well as those in the United States. Since 2008, however, all of its teams have been based in the US. The IL's 20 teams are located in 14 states stretching from Papillion, Nebraska, to Worcester, Massachusetts, and from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Jacksonville, Florida. A league champion is determined at the end of each season. The Rochester Red Wings have won 19 International League titles, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triple-A (baseball)
Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two sports league, leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). There are 30 teams, one per each Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise, with 20 in the IL and 10 in the PCL. Triple-A teams are generally located in smaller cities as well as larger metropolitan areas without MLB teams, such as Austin, Texas, Austin, Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville, Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, and Indianapolis. Four Triple-A teams play in the same metro areas as their parent clubs, those being the Gwinnett Stripers, St. Paul Saints, Sugar Land Space Cowboys and Tacoma Rainiers. All current Triple-A teams are located in the United States; before 2008, some Triple-A leagues also fielded List of defunct baseball teams in Canada#AAA, teams in Canada, and from 1967 to 2020 the Mexican League was classified as T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Texas League
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the state of Texas; the five North Division teams are located in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892. It was called the Texas Association in 1895, the Texas-Southern League in 1896, and again as the Texas League from 1897 to 1899. It was revived as a Class D league in 1902, moved to Class C in 1904 where it played through 1910 (except for 1906 as Class D again), played at Class B until 1920, and finally moved up to Class A in 1921. The Texas League, like many others, shut down during World War II. From 1959 to 1961, the Texas League and the Mexican League formed the Pan American Association. The two leagues played a limited interlocking schedule and post-season championship. By 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double-A (baseball)
Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League Baseball, organized into three leagues: the Eastern League, the Southern League, and the Texas League. History Class AA ("Double-A") was established in 1912, as the new highest classification of Minor League Baseball. Previously, Class A had been the highest level, predating the establishment of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues—the formal name of Minor League Baseball—in 1901. Entering the 1912 season, three leagues were designated as Class AA: * American Association (AA) * International League (IL) * Pacific Coast League (PCL) Each of these leagues had previously been in Class A. Each remained in Class AA through 1945, then moved into Class AAA (" Triple-A") when it was established in 1946. No other le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northwest Arkansas Naturals
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The Naturals play at Arvest Ballpark, which opened in 2008 and is located at the intersection of Gene George Boulevard and Watkins Avenue. The team relocated from Wichita, Kansas, Wichita, Kansas, in 2008, where they were known as the Wichita Wranglers. Origin The Wichita Wranglers had struggled with low attendance numbers and an aging Lawrence–Dumont Stadium throughout Bob Rich Jr.'s 18-year ownership of the team. In 2006, he sought a move to Springdale, contingent on a citizen vote to approve financing for a new stadium. The pro-baseball movement in Springdale had counted on the support of Ronnie Floyd, influential pastor of local megachurch First Baptist Church of Springdale. In June 2006, Floyd abruptly pulled his support after he disc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High-A Central
The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The Midwest League began as the Illinois State League (1947–1948) and then became the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League (1949–1955). In 1956, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League was renamed the Midwest League. The circuit temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the High-A Central before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. The Lansing Lugnuts and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers franchises jointly have won the most Midwest League championships, with nine each. History The Midwest League directly evolved from two earlier leagues in the region. In 1947, the Class D Illinois State League (ISL) began operation with six Illinois teams: the Belleville Stags, Centralia Cubs, Marion Indians, Mattoon Indians, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quad Cities River Bandits
The Quad Cities River Bandits are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Their home games are played at Modern Woodmen Park (formerly John O'Donnell Stadium) in Davenport, Iowa, one of the Quad Cities. History 1879–1959 Beginning in 1879, Quad City area professional baseball has a history that includes three teams. Davenport, Moline (Moline Plowboys) and Rock Island (Rock Island Islanders) all have hosted minor league baseball teams. A fourth area team played in nearby Kewanee, Illinois. The 1879 Davenport Brown Stockings, with Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Bid McPhee, finished 5–15 in the Northwestern League. The Brown Stockings played with the Dubuque Red Stockings, Omaha Green Stockings and Rockford White Stockings, before the Northwestern League folded after one season. The Davenport Onion Weeders (1888), Davenport Hawkeyes (1889) and Davenport Pilgrims (1891) played before the turn of the 20th century in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Signing Bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive to the employee (e.g., if the annual salary is lower than they desire). It also lowers the risk to the company as it is a one-time payment; for example, if the employee does not meet expectations, the company has not committed to a higher salary. Signing bonuses are often used in professional sports, and to recruit graduates into their first jobs. To encourage employees to stay at the organization, there are often clauses in the contract whereby if the employee quits before a specified period, they must return the signing bonus. In sports contracts, the full amount of signing bonuses is not always paid immediately, but spread out over time. In such cases, the main difference between a signing bonus and base salary is that the former is " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
