Stephen Strasburg
Stephen James Strasburg (; born July 20, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Strasburg was selected by Washington with the first overall pick in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. He made his major league debut in 2010 and is a three-time All-Star. A talented but unpolished high school baseball player at West Hills High School, Strasburg played college baseball for the San Diego State Aztecs. There, he became one of the best collegiate pitchers in the country. Strasburg pitched for the United States national baseball team at the 2008 Summer Olympics, winning the bronze medal. Two years later, he was called the "most-hyped pick in draft history" by ESPN and the "most hyped and closely watched pitching prospect in the history of baseball" by ''Sports Illustrated''. Strasburg's major league debut in June 2010 produced a franchise-record 14 strikeouts. Several months into his major league career, Stras ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadium while a new stadium was being built. In 2008, they moved in to Nationals Park, located on South Capitol Street in the Southeast quadrant of D.C., near the Anacostia River. The Nationals are the eighth major league franchise to be based in Washington, D.C., and the first since 1971. The current franchise was founded in 1969 as the Montreal Expos as part of a four-team expansion. After a failed contraction plan, the Expos were purchased by MLB, which sought to relocate the team to a new city. Washington, D.C. was chosen in 2004, and the Nationals were established in 2005 as the first MLB franchise relocation since the third Washington Senators moved to Texas in 1971. While the team initially struggled after moving to Washington, the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Golden Spikes Award
The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to an amateur player who best exhibits and combines "exceptional on-field ability and exemplary sportsmanship". The award is considered the most prestigious in amateur baseball. Ten winners of the Golden Spikes Award are members of the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, including Bob Horner, the inaugural winner in 1978. In that same year, he was the first overall MLB draft pick and proceeded to win the Rookie of the Year Award. Seven Golden Spikes Award winners went on to become the first overall MLB draft pick. Only Horner achieved the MLB Rookie of the Year Award in the same year (although Jason Jennings and Buster Posey were voted the top rookies of the National League several years after winning the Golden Spikes Award). Jim Abbot ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of First Overall Major League Baseball Draft Picks
The first-year player draft, also known as the Rule 4 Draft, is the primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. Unlike most professional sports, MLB does not permit the trading of draft picks, so the draft order is solely determined by the previous season's standings; the team that possesses the worst record receives the first pick. If two teams have identical records, the team with the worse record in the previous season will receive the higher pick. In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded "compensatory" picks. The first draft took place in 1965; it was introduced to prevent richer teams from negotiating wealthier contracts with top-level prospects and therefore, monopolizing the player market. Originally, three drafts were held each year. The first draft took place in June and involved high-school graduates and college ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. The NL and AL were formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively. Beginning in 1903, the two leagues signed the National Agreement and cooperated but remained legally separate entities until 2000, when they merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball. MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. It is also included as one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. Baseball's first all-professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was founded in 1869. Before that, some teams had secretly paid certain players. The first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one te ... [...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 Central Le ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Professional Baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional leagues Americas United States and Canada Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada (founded in 1869) consists of the National League (founded in 1876) and the American League (founded in 1901). Historically, teams in one league never played teams in the other until the World Series, in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other. This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play. As of 2022, the Philadelphia Phillies, founded in 1883, are the oldest continuous same-name, same-city franchise in both Major League Baseball and all of American professional sports. In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams. An organization offic ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States National Baseball Team
The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball tournament in 2000, and the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2017. The United States was an inaugural member of the World Baseball Classic, making its debut in the first edition. In their first three appearances in the WBC, the best finish for the Americans was fourth place in 2009. In 2017, the team won the WBC title for the first time. Team USA qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics by winning the eight-team Americas Qualifying Event in June 2021. In the Olympic competition, held in Tokyo in July and August 2021, the team won the silver medal, losing to hosts Japan in the gold medal game. Current roster The team's roster for the 2020 Summer Olympics, held in 2021 in Tokyo, was released on July 2, 2021. Results and fixtures The follow ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008 World University Baseball Championship
The 2008 World University Baseball Championship was an under-23 international college baseball tournament that was held from July 17 to 27, 2008. The final game was held on July 27, 2008 in Brno, Czech Republic. It was the 4th time the University Championship took place. Czech Republic hosted the tournament and 7 nations competed, including defending champions the United States. India was originally to have participated but withdrew. In the end, the United States won their third University Championship, over a win against runner-up Japan. Round 1 Standings Game results ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Round 2 Semi finals Final round 5th place game Bronze medal game Final Final standings References External linksHost website {{International baseball World University Baseball Championship World University Championship International baseball competitions hosted by the Czech Republic 2008 in Czech sport Baseball World University Basebal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World University Baseball Championship
The World University Baseball Championship is an under-23 international college baseball competition sponsored by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) and was first held in 2002 in Italy. Until 2013, it was sanctioned by the then-International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and was one of several tournaments considered by the IBAF to be a minor world championship, and as such the results of the tournaments affected the IBAF World Rankings. For its men's world rankings, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) -- successor to the IBAF—now uses the results of WBSC's biennial 23U Baseball World Cup (instead of the World University Championship). History The fifth World University Baseball Championship was held from July 29 to August 8, 2010 in Tokyo, Japan and was organized by the All Japan University Baseball Federation. Results Medal table See also *Baseball awards *Baseball at the Summer Universiade *U-23 Baseball World Cup References External li ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Baseball At The 2008 Summer Olympics
Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from August 13 to August 23. All games were played at Wukesong Baseball Field, a temporary venue constructed at the Beijing Wukesong Culture & Sports Center. For the third time in Olympic competition, professional baseball players were eligible to participate, though no active players from Major League Baseball were available. This was the last Olympic baseball tournament before the International Olympic Committee voted to remove baseball from the program in the 2012 Olympics. Along with softball, baseball was rejected for inclusion in the 2016 Summer Olympics at the IOC's meeting in October 2009. However, following a 2016 IOC vote, baseball was again included for the 2020 Games. This was also the first time that the IBAF's new extra-innings rule was officially in effect, allowing each team to start with two base runners from the 11th inning on. South Korea won the gold medal in a 3–2 final victory against Cuba. Me ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 28 sports and 302 events, one event more than those scheduled for the 2004 Summer Olympics. This was the first time China had hosted the Olympic Games, and the third time the Summer Olympic Games had been held in East Asia, following the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, and the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. These were also the second Summer Olympic Games to be held in a communist state, the first being the 1980 Summer Olympics in the Soviet Union (with venues in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Estonia). Beijing was awarded the 2008 Games over four competitors on 13 July 2001, having won a majority of votes from members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after two rounds o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |