Spencer Patton
Spencer Burdette Patton (born February 20, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers and the Chicago Cubs, and for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Amateur career Patton attended South Central High School in Farina, Illinois where he played both basketball and baseball. In basketball, Patton was a third-team all state selection as a senior and in baseball was named all-area player of the year. Patton attended Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois where he played baseball for one year. He then transferred to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). Following his senior season at SIUE, Patton was awarded the NCAA Division I Rawlings Gold Glove Award for 2011. Patton was also named co-pitcher of the year while Pitching for Forest City, NC, of the Coastal Plain League in 2009, winning a CPL championship and being ranked as the #1 coll ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum. There are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and the closer. Traditionally, the pitcher also bats. Starting in 1973 with the American League(and later the National League) and spreading to further leagues throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the hitting duties of the pitcher have generally been given over to the position of designated hitter, a cause of some controversy. The Japanese Ce ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Champaign, Illinois
Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropolitan area. It is included in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area. Champaign shares the main campus of the University of Illinois with its twin city of Urbana. Champaign is also home to Parkland College, which serves about 18,000 students during the academic year. Due to the university and a number of well-known technology startup companies, it is often referred to as the hub, or a significant landmark, of the Silicon Prairie. Champaign houses offices for the Fortune 500 companies Abbott, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Caterpillar, John Deere, Dow Chemical Company, IBM, and State Farm. Champaign also serves as the headquarters for several companies, the most notable being Jimmy John's. History Champaign was founded in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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SB Nation
''SB Nation'' (an abbreviation for their full name ''SportsBlogs Nation'') is a sports blogging network owned by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Tyler Bleszinski, Markos Moulitsas, and Jerome Armstrong in 2005. The blog from which the network formed was started by Bleszinski as ''Athletics Nation'' in 2003, and focused solely on the Oakland Athletics. It has since expanded to cover sports franchises on a national scale, including all Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Football League, and National Hockey League teams, as well as college and soccer teams, mixed martial arts and professional wrestling, totaling over 300 community sites. In 2011, the network expanded into technology content with ''The Verge'', leading to the parent company Sports Blogs Inc. being rebranded as Vox Media. ''SB Nation'' operates from Vox Media's offices in New York City and Washington, D.C. Corporate affairs and business model From 2005 to 2011, the sports blog ne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Athletic
''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports (National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, NASCAR, NCAA football, NCAA basketball ( U.S. only), National Hockey League, mixed martial arts, Major League Soccer (U.S. and Canada only) and association football ( U.K. edition only). ''The Athletic''s coverage focuses on a mix of long-form journalism, original reporting, and in-depth analysis. Its business model is predicated on dis-aggregating the sports section of local newspapers and reaching non-local fans not reached by a local newspaper. History ''The Athletic'' was founded by Alex Mather and Adam Hansmann, former coworkers at subscription-based fitness company Strava, with the mission of producing "smarter coverage for die-hard fans." The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Round Rock Express
The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named for Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, who was nicknamed "The Ryan Express." Ryan, along with son Reid Ryan and Don Sanders make up the team's ownership group, Ryan Sanders Baseball. The Express were established as a Double-A team of the Texas League (TL) in 2000. They won the Texas League championship in 2000. Round Rock was replaced by a Triple-A Pacific Coast League team in 2005. The Triple-A Express carried on the history of the Double-A team that preceded them. With Major League Baseball's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Express were shifted to the Triple-A West, which was renamed the PCL in 2022. History The ownership group led by Nolan Ryan and Don Sanders began its operations in Round Rock in 2000 as the Dell ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2016 World Series
The 2016 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2016 season. The 112th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Chicago Cubs and the American League (AL) champion Cleveland Indians, the first meeting of those franchises in postseason history. The series was played between October 25 and November 2 (although Game 7 ended slightly after 12:00 am local time on November 3). The Indians had home-field advantage because the AL had won the 2016 All-Star Game. This was the final World Series to have home-field advantage determined by the All-Star Game results; since , home-field advantage has been awarded to the team with the better record. Many consider the 2016 World Series to be one of the best of all time, due to the underdog story behind both teams, the games being tightly contested, and the series going the full distance. The Cubs defeated the Indians 4–3 to capture their first Wor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team in 1977 playing their home games in the Kingdome. Since July , the Mariners' home ballpark has been T-Mobile Park, located in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle. The "Mariners" name originates from the prominence of marine culture in the city of Seattle. They are nicknamed the M's, a title featured in their primary logo from 1987 to 1992. They adopted their current team colors – navy blue, northwest green ( teal), and silver – prior to the 1993 season, after having been royal blue and gold since the team's inception. Their mascot is the Mariner Moose. The franchise did not field a winning team until 1991 and further success eluded them until when they won their first division championship and defeated the New York Yankees in ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jason Frasor
Jason Andrew Frasor (born August 9, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He made his debut with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2004, and had a 4.08 ERA in 63 games. He also played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals and the Atlanta Braves. Professional career Toronto Blue Jays A starter in the low minors from to , he was converted to a reliever in 2003. The Blue Jays acquired him from the Los Angeles Dodgers prior to the 2004 season in exchange for Jayson Werth. He was sent to the minors on April 28, 2006, and recalled on May 11, 2006. On July 2, 2006, Frasor was demoted again to Triple-A; the Blue Jays recalled Shaun Marcum in his place. On January 9, 2007, Frasor signed a one-year contract for the 2007 season with the Toronto Blue Jays, avoiding salary arbitration. The contract was worth $825,000 with cumulative incentives based upon games pitched. Frasor began 2009 with a 4–0 record through early May, without allowing an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 20 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Northwest Arkansas Naturals
The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the 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, 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 discovered that the team would serve alcohol at games, mak ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Wilmington Blue Rocks
The Wilmington Blue Rocks are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Wilmington, Delaware, and play their home games at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium. Franchise history The Blue Rocks played in the Carolina League, an advanced Single-A league in minor league baseball, from 1993 to 2020. The name "Blue Rocks" was chosen because of the blue granite found along the Brandywine River in Wilmington. The Blue Rocks play at Judy Johnson Field at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium in Wilmington's growing Riverfront district and was instrumental in bringing commerce and public attention to the once ignored and dilapidated area of the city. The Blue Rocks played their first season in 1993 when the Peninsula Pilots were purchased and relocated to the riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware. Principal owner Frank Boulton and co-owner Bud Harrelson bought the franchise in 1992, moved the team from Hampton, Vir ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Idaho Falls Chukars
The Idaho Falls Chukars are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and play their home games at Melaleuca Field. They adopted the name the Chukars following a fan vote when the major league affiliation changed after the 2003 season. A chukar is a game bird found in the region. The Chukars are the only professional sports team in Eastern Idaho. In conjunction with a contraction of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Pioneer League, of which the Chukars have been members since 1940, was converted from an MLB-affiliated Rookie Advanced league to an independent baseball league and granted status as an MLB Partner League, with Idaho Falls continuing as members. Franchise history After fielding the Idaho Falls Spuds in the Utah–Idaho League from 1926 to 1928, the franchise restarted in 1940 and were called the Russets, playing in the Pion ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |