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Pancho Herrera
Juan Francisco Herrera Villavicencio (June 16, 1934 – April 28, 2005), nicknamed "Pancho" and "Frank", was a Cuban-born professional baseball player. He appeared in an even 300 games over all or part of three seasons in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies between and , primarily as a first baseman. He also played for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro American League, from whom he was purchased by the Phillies in 1954. A prodigious minor-league slugger, Herrera was listed at tall and ; he threw and batted right-handed. He was the first Afro-Latino to play for the Phillies. Early career Born in Santiago de las Vegas, near Havana, Herrera began his organized baseball career in the higher levels of the Phillies' farm system in 1955. As a 23-year-old prospect, he spent 1957 with the Miami Marlins of the International League, where he, Woody Smith, Mickey Micelotta and Bobby Young were considered to be one of the best infields in the circuit; one writer said, " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majority of plays made at that base. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number 3. Also called first sacker or cornerman, the first baseman is ideally a tall player who throws left-handed and possesses good flexibility and quick reflexes. Flexibility is needed because the first baseman receives throws from the other infielders, the catcher and the pitcher after they have fielded ground balls. In order for the runner to be called out, the first baseman must be able to ''stretch'' towards the throw and catch it before the runner reaches first base. First base is often referred to as "the other hot corner"—the "hot corner" being third baseman, third base—and therefore, like the third baseman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kansas City Monarchs
The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1930. J. L. Wilkinson was the first Caucasian owner at the time of the establishment of the team. In 1930, the Monarchs became the first professional baseball team to use a portable lighting system which was transported from game to game in trucks to play games at night, five years before any major league team did. The Monarchs won ten league championships before integration, and triumphed in the first Negro League World Series in 1924. The Monarchs had only one season in which they did not have a winning record. The team produced more major league players than any other Negro league franchise. It was disbanded in 1965. Negro National League The Monarchs were formed in 1920, primarily from two sources. Owner J. L. Wilkinson drew players fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batting Average (baseball)
In baseball, batting average (BA) is determined by dividing a player's hits by their total at-bats. It is usually rounded to three decimal places and read without the decimal: A player with a batting average of .300 is "batting three-hundred". If necessary to break ties, batting averages could be taken beyond the .001 measurement. In this context, .001 is considered a "point", such that a .235 batter is 5 points higher than a .230 batter. History Henry Chadwick, an English statistician raised on cricket, was an influential figure in the early history of baseball. In the late 19th century he adapted the concept behind the cricket batting average to devise a similar statistic for baseball. Rather than simply copy cricket's formulation of runs scored divided by outs, he realized that hits divided by at bats would provide a better measure of individual batting ability. This is because while in cricket, scoring runs is almost entirely dependent on one's batting skill, in baseball ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bobby Young
Robert George Young (January 22, 1925 – February 4, 1985) was an American professional baseball player. He played all or part of eight years in Major League Baseball, primarily as a second baseman. He played most of his career for the St. Louis Browns/Baltimore Orioles franchise. Born in Granite, Maryland, he was first signed by the St. Louis Cardinals before the 1946 season, and appeared in three games for them in 1948 before being traded to the crosstown Browns in June 1949. He was the Browns' regular second baseman from 1951 to 1953, tying for the American League lead in double plays as a 1951 rookie with 118, and leading the league again in 1952 with 127. He continued as the starting second baseman after the team relocated to Baltimore before the 1954 season, and was in fact the first player signed to a contract that year. But the move closer to his hometown did not produce strong results, and his batting average – which had hovered around the .250 mark – slip ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mickey Micelotta
Robert Peter "Mickey" Micelotta (October 20, 1928 – October 9, 2022) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played 13 total seasons of professional baseball, two of which were spent in the National League with the Philadelphia Phillies. In 17 career MLB games, Micelotta posted a batting average of .000 and had two runs in nine plate appearances. Born and raised in New York, Micelotta first played professionally with the Dayton Indians and Carbondale Pioneers in 1947. Over the next three seasons, he played for various minor league teams in the Phillies organization before missing the 1951 and 1952 seasons, serving in the Korean War. He returned and played for the Terre Haute Phillies in 1953 and the Syracuse Chiefs from 1954 to 1955, splitting time between the Chiefs and the Phillies' major league squad. Micelotta spent the next three seasons with the Miami Marlins and three seasons after that with the Birmingham Barons before retiring from baseball. Ear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Woody Smith
Forest Elwood "Woody" Smith (born February 25, 1927 in University City, Missouri, United States; died February 4, 2005) was a baseball figure who spent 18 seasons playing in the minor leagues and another 12 managing at that level. A third baseman, Smith played from 1946 to 1962 and again in 1969. Though his statistical record is incomplete, it is known that he collected at least 1,755 hits in his career - with at least 342 being doubles, 43 being triples and 130 being home runs. In 1951, he had perhaps his best season when he hit .320 with 30 doubles, six triples, three home runs and 162 hits for the West Palm Beach Indians. He spent 1957 with the Miami Marlins (IL), Miami Marlins of the International League, where he, Pancho Herrera, Mickey Micelotta, and Pancho Herrera were considered to be one of the best infields in the International League, with one writer saying, "they make plays the Phillies couldn't make." In October 1957, he was purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies to be ... [...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] |
Miami Marlins (IL)
The Miami Marlins were a minor league baseball team based in Miami, Florida. The original Marlins were a Triple-A franchise in the International League from 1956 through 1960. The International League team was succeeded by a Single-A team in the Florida State League (now the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels) and today's Miami Marlins (formerly the Florida Marlins) of Major League Baseball. History The International League Marlins were a transplanted version of the original Syracuse Chiefs, having been created on December 20, 1955, when the Syracuse club (a member of the IL as early as 1886 and a continuous member since 1934) was sold to Sidney Salomon (future founding owner of the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League) and Elliot Stein. The 1955 Chiefs, an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, finished only two games out of the playoffs, but drew only 85,000 fans, last in the eight-team league. In the Marlins' debut season in Miami, the club finished third and attracted 28 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farm System
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher level at a given point, usually in an association with a major-level parent team. This system can be implemented in many ways, both formally and informally. It is not to be confused with a practice squad, which fulfills a similar developmental purpose but the players on the practice squad are members of the parent team. The term is also used as a metaphor for any organization or activity that serves as a training ground for higher-level endeavors. For instance, business schools are occasionally referred to as "farm clubs" in the world of business. Contracted farm teams Baseball In the United States and Canada, Minor League Baseball teams operate under strict franchise contracts with their major league counterparts. Although the vast maj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Organized Baseball
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts. The commissioner is chosen by a vote of the owners of the teams. The incumbent MLB commissioner is Rob Manfred, who assumed office on January 25, 2015. Origin of the office The title "commissioner", which is a title that is now applied to the heads of several other major sports leagues as well as baseball, derives from its predecessor office, the National Baseball Commission, the ruling body of professional baseball starting with the National Agreement of 1903, which created unity between both the National League and the American League. The agreement consisted of three members: t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba ''''. . The city has a population of 2.3million inhabitants, and it spans a total of – making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
