Senior Professional Baseball Association
The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had eight teams in two divisions and a 72-game schedule. Pitchers Rollie Fingers, Ferguson Jenkins (both future Hall of Famers), and Vida Blue, outfielder Dave Kingman, and managers Earl Weaver and Dick Williams were the league's marquee names; and former big league outfielder Curt Flood was the circuit's first Commissioner. At age 54, Ed Rakow was the league's oldest player.Senior Citizens: The Boys of Winter ''Uni Watch''. Retrieved on March 8, 2016. First season Throughout the inaugural season, most clubs struggled with poor ...[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called " runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases. A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter). The principal objective of the batting team is to have a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mickey Rivers
John Milton "Mickey" Rivers (born October 30, 1948) is an American former baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1984 for the California Angels, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. As a member of the Yankees, he was part of two World Series championship teams, both wins over the Los Angeles Dodgers, in and . "Mick The Quick" was generally known as a speedy leadoff hitter who made contact and was an excellent center fielder, with a below-average throwing arm. Career Rivers graduated from Miami Northwestern Senior High School in 1967. The legend of "Mick the Quick" began during his amateur days at Miami Dade Community College. A fast and athletic outfielder, Rivers emerged as one of the team stars, but once disappeared just moments before the start of a game. His teammates and coaches later discovered Rivers asleep under a nearby tree. Originally signed by the Atlanta Braves, Rivers began his big league career in 1970 with the Angels, playing center f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bill Campbell (baseball Player)
William Richard Campbell (born August 9, 1948) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1973 to 1987. He played for the American League (AL) Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, and Detroit Tigers and the National League (NL) Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, and Montreal Expos. Early life Campbell was born in Highland Park, Michigan, and raised in Pomona, California. He graduated from Ganesha High School in Pomona, and attended Mt. San Antonio College. After being drafted for military service in 1968, Campbell joined the United States Army. He served as a radio operator in Vietnam during the Vietnam War and was discharged in 1970. Start of career Nicknamed "Soup" because of his last name, Campbell was signed as an amateur free agent pitcher by the Twins and began his career with the Class A minor league Wisconsin Rapids in 1971. In 1972, he moved up to Minnesota's AA level Charlotte affiliate, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rick Lysander
Richard Eugene Lysander is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He had a four-season career in the majors, spread out over six years. Career Major League career Lysander was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in , and he toiled in the minors for several years before finally pitching five games for the A's in . He was then returned to the minors, and remained there for the rest of 1980 and all of . Oakland traded him to the Houston Astros after the 1981 season, but Lysander never played in the majors for Houston. The Astros traded him on to the Minnesota Twins for Bob Veselic the following off-season, and in Rick was back in the majors. He remained with the Twins until , after which he was released, ending his major-league career. Post-MLB life Lysander didn't give up on pitching entirely, and eventually found a home in the Senior Professional Baseball Association. In he pitched for the Bradenton Explorers, leading the league in saves with 11. In , he moved on to the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pete Falcone
Peter Frank Falcone (born October 1, 1953) is an American former professional baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves. Early years As a senior at Lafayette High School in Brooklyn, New York (the same high school as Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax), Falcone was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the thirteenth round of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft, but opted to attend Kingsborough Community College instead. He was then drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the second round of the January secondary amateur draft, but did not sign. Finally, when drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the first round (third overall) of the June 1973 secondary draft, Falcone signed. Falcone impressed immediately, going 8–1 with a 1.50 earned run average and 102 strikeouts in 72 innings pitched for the Pioneer League's Great Falls Giants in his first professional season. He followed that up with 207 strikeouts in pitching in the Californi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tim Stoddard
Timothy Paul Stoddard (born January 24, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is one of only two men to have played in both a World Series and a Final Four of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, along with fellow East Chicago Washington High School alumnus Kenny Lofton. A right-handed pitcher, Stoddard pitched for the Chicago White Sox (1975), Baltimore Orioles (1978–83), Chicago Cubs (1984), San Diego Padres (1985–86), New York Yankees (1986–88) and Cleveland Indians (1989). Currently, he is the pitching coach for the baseball team at North Central College. Collegiate Baseball/Basketball career The 6'7" Stoddard was born in East Chicago, Indiana. He was a member of the 1971 East Chicago Washington High School (East Chicago, Indiana), Washington High School Senators basketball team, which went undefeated (29-0) and won the Indiana state high school basketball championship. Among his teammates were Pete Trgovich (who played at UCLA) and Junior ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jon Matlack
Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack (born January 19, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through for the New York Mets and the Texas Rangers. The three-time All-Star was named the National League Rookie of the Year and was a member of the National League pennant-winning New York Mets team. Matlack led the National League in shutouts in 1974 and 1975 and, ranks in the top 10 among Mets pitchers in wins, complete games, ERA, strikeouts, shutouts and innings pitched. In 2020, Matlack was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame. Early life Matlack was born in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He was just 17 years old when the Mets drafted him as the fourth overall pick in the 1967 Major League Baseball draft out of Henderson High School in the West Chester Area School District of Pennsylvania. His baseball career was delayed by his American Legion Baseball team's tournament. Once he was ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Milt Wilcox
Milton Edward Wilcox (born April 20, 1950) is an American former baseball pitcher. He pitched for 16 years in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds (1970–1971), Cleveland Indians (1972–1974), Chicago Cubs (1975), Detroit Tigers (1977–1985), and Seattle Mariners (1986). In his first major-league season, he won Game 3 of the 1970 National League Championship Series and lost Game 2 of the 1970 World Series. Fourteen years later, he won 17 games for the 1984 Detroit Tigers team, pitched a shutout in the final game of the 1984 American League Championship Series, and was the winning pitcher in Game 3 of the 1984 World Series. In 16 major-league seasons Wilcox appeared in 394 games, including 283 as a starter, and compiled a 119–113 win–loss record with a 4.07 earned run average (ERA) and 1,137 strikeouts, 2,016-2/3 innings pitched, and 770 bases on balls. Early years Wilcox was born in 1950 at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu where his father was a drafting engineer. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Earned Run Average
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine. Thus, a lower ERA is better. Runs resulting from passed balls or defensive errors (including pitchers' defensive errors) are recorded as unearned runs and omitted from ERA calculations. Origins Henry Chadwick is credited with devising the statistic, which caught on as a measure of pitching effectiveness after relief pitching came into vogue in the 1900s. Prior to 1900—and, in fact, for many years afterward—pitchers were routinely expected to pitch a complete game, and their win–loss record was considered sufficient in determining their effectiveness. After pitchers like James Otis Crandall and Charley Hall made names for themselves as relief specialists, gauging a pitcher's e ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Juan Eichelberger
Juan Tyrone Eichelberger (born October 21, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He graduated from Balboa High School of San Francisco, California, in 1971, played collegiately at the University of California, Berkeley and pitched for the San Diego Padres (1978–82), Cleveland Indians (1983) and Atlanta Braves (1988). He also pitched one season in Japan (1989) for the Yakult Swallows. On June 2, 1982, Juan almost threw the Padres first no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs. A questionable umpiring call resulted in Scot Thompson being credited with a 2nd inning single on a ground ball that was not cleanly fielded by Tim Flannery. Juan kept the Cubs hitless over the next 7 innings and ended up with a complete game 1 hitter. The Padres won the game 3–1. In 1982 he was traded by the Padres along with Broderick Perkins to the Cleveland Indians for Ed Whitson. In 7 seasons he had a 26–36 win–loss record, 125 games, 79 games started, 14 complete game ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Willie Aikens
Willie Mays Aikens (born October 14, 1954) is an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, Kansas City Royals, and Toronto Blue Jays between 1977 and 1985. He had established himself as one of the top sluggers in the game before drugs derailed his career. In 1994, Aikens was sentenced to 20 years in prison on four counts of crack cocaine distribution and one count of use of a firearm during drug trafficking. He was released on June 4, 2008, after changes in federal drug laws, and is sometimes cited as an example of the results of mandatory maximum sentencing in drug-related crimes. Early years Aikens grew up in poverty in the Bruce Hill community of Seneca, South Carolina. He was a standout athlete in baseball, football and basketball at Seneca High School, and attended historically black South Carolina State University on a baseball and football scholarship. When S.C. State dropped baseball after Aikens' freshman ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kim Allen (baseball)
Kim Bryant Allen (born April 5, 1953) is a former professional baseball player. Career After playing college baseball for the UC Riverside Highlanders and having a nondescript minor league career, Allen briefly earned prospect status with the Seattle Mariners on the strength of his spectacular season for the Triple-A Spokane Indians. That season he registered a 35-game hitting streak and stole 84 bases, the most in the Pacific Coast League since 1913. He was called up to the Mariners in September 1980 and swiped 10 bags in 23 games. Entering , Allen was a dark horse Rookie of the Year candidate, as there was speculation that Mariners manager Maury Wills would embrace Allen's larcenous ways and would allow him to run wild. However, after breaking camp with the Mariners, Allen was used almost exclusively as a pinch-runner, and then was sent down at the end of April. After his big league career, Allen played in Japan for the Hanshin Tigers during the and seasons. In 1982, he ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |