|
Tom Sturdivant
Thomas Virgil Sturdivant (April 28, 1930 – February 28, 2009), nicknamed "Snake", was an American pitcher who played for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators (1961–71), Washington Senators, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets of Major League Baseball. He threw a curveball and a knuckleball, among other pitches. He batted left-handed but threw right-handed. Sturdivant was originally signed by the Yankees as an infielder in 1948. After a two-year stint in the United States Army, he became a pitcher in order to improve his chances of making the major leagues. He debuted with the Yankees in 1955, the first of four straight years he was on a World Series roster. In 1956, he had a 16–8 Win–loss record (pitching), record, led the American League (AL) with a 2.12 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and won Game 4 of the 1956 World Series, which the Yankees won in seven games over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Brooklyn Dodgers. He went ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Knuckleball
A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This change adds a deflecting force to the baseball, making it difficult for batters to hit but also difficult for pitchers to control and catchers to catch; umpires are challenged as well, as the ball's irregular motion through the air makes it harder to call balls and strikes.Hoffman, Benjamin"Not So Easy on the Eyes"''New York Times'' (June 23, 2012) A pitcher who throws knuckleballs is known as a knuckleballer. Origins The origins of the knuckleball are unclear. Toad Ramsey of the Louisville Colonels in the old American Association—his pitch likely resembled the knuckle curve—and Eddie Cicotte of the Chicago White Sox, who in 1908 was nicknamed "Knuckles", are two possible creators of the pitch. Other accounts attribute the pitch's creat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named after the Kansas River, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native Americans who lived along its banks. The tribe's name (natively ') is often said to mean "people of the (south) wind" although this was probably not the term's original meaning. For thousands of years, what is now Kansas was home to numerous and diverse Native American tribes. Tribes in the eastern part of the state generally lived in villages along the river valleys. Tribes in the western part of the state were semi-nomadic and hunted large herds of bison. The first Euro-American settlement in Kansas occurred in 1827 at Fort Leavenworth. The pace of settlement accelerated in the 1850s, in the midst of political wars over the slavery debate. Wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and is the 8th largest city in the Southern United States. The population grew following the 2010 census and reached 687,725 in the 2020 census. The Oklahoma City metropolitan area had a population of 1,396,445, and the Oklahoma City–Shawnee Combined Statistical Area had a population of 1,469,124, making it Oklahoma's largest municipality and metropolitan area by population. Oklahoma City's city limits extend somewhat into Canadian, Cleveland, and Pottawatomie counties, though much of those areas outside the core Oklahoma County area are suburban tracts or protected rural zones ( watershed). The city is the eighth-largest in the United States by area including consolidated city-counties; it is the second-largest, after Houston, not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if they have not yet played in a game, rather than in the dugout with the rest of the team. The starting pitcher also makes their final pregame warm-up throws in the bullpen. Managers can call coaches in the bullpen on an in-house telephone from the dugout to tell a certain pitcher to begin their warm-up tosses. Each team generally has its own bullpen consisting of two pitching rubbers and plates at regulation distance from each other. In most Major League Baseball parks, the bullpens are situated out-of-play behind the outfield fence. Etymology The term first appeared in wide use shortly after the turn of the 20th century, and has been used since in roughly its present meaning. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' the earliest r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1960 Major League Baseball Expansion Draft
The 1960 MLB expansion draft was held by Major League Baseball on December 14, 1960, to fill the rosters of the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators. The Angels and Senators (who later became the Texas Rangers) were new franchises that would enter the American League (AL) the following season as part of the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion. The Angels represented the AL's first team to be based on the West Coast of the United States, while the Senators would take the place of the league's original Washington Senators franchise that had moved to Minneapolis–Saint Paul as the Minnesota Twins after the season. Ground rules Each existing American League club had to make available for the draft seven players on their active rosters on August 31, 1960, and eight others from their 40-man rosters. The expansion clubs paid US$75,000 for each of 28 players they drafted with a maximum of seven players drafted from each existing club, not including minor league selections. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years it has occasionally fallen in the last week of March. In Nippon Professional Baseball, this day typically falls during the last week of March. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book titled, ''Why Time Begins on Opening Day''. Many feel that the occasion is a moment to forget last season, in that all teams begin anew with records. Pre-season exhibition games are usually played in the month before Opening Day, during spring training. A home opener is a team's first game of the season on their home field. Equivalents to Opening Day occur throughout the sport, including minor leagues, college baseball, high school, and youth leagues. Because MLB generally begins its season earli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves were founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1871, as the Boston Red Stockings. After various name changes, the team eventually began operating as the Boston Braves in 1912, which lasted for most of the first half of the 20th century. Then, in 1953, the team relocation of professional sports teams, moved to Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and became the Milwaukee Braves, followed by their move to Atlanta in 1966. The name "Braves" originates from Braves (Native Americans), a term for a Native American warrior. They are List of baseball nicknames, nicknamed "the Bravos", and often referred to as "America's Team#Other uses, America's Team" in reference to the team's games being broadcast nationally on Braves TBS Baseball, TBS from the 1970s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Winning Percentage
In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matches played (i.e. wins plus draws plus losses). A draw counts as a win. : \text = \cdot100\% Discussion For example, if a team's season record is 30 wins and 20 losses, the winning percentage would be 60% or 0.600: : 60\% = \cdot100\% If a team's season record is 30–15–5 (i.e. it has won thirty games, lost fifteen and tied five times), and in the five tie games are counted as 2 wins, and so the team has an adjusted record of 32 wins, resulting in a 65% or winning percentage for the fifty total games from: : 65\% = \cdot100\% In North America, winning percentages are expressed as decimal values to three decimal places. It is the same value, but without the last step of multiplying by 100% in the formula above. Furthermore, they are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn, which later became a borough of New York City, the team joined the NL in 1890 as the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and assumed several different monikers thereafter before finally settling on the name Dodgers in 1932. From the 1940s through the mid-1950s, the Dodgers developed a fierce cross-town rivalry with the New York Yankees as the two clubs faced each other in the World Series seven times, with the Dodgers losing the first five matchups before defeating them to win the franchise's first title in 1955. It was also during this period that the Dodgers made history by breaking the baseball color line in 1947 with the debut of Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues since 1884. Another major milestone was reache ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1956 World Series
The 1956 World Series of Major League Baseball was played between the New York Yankees of the American League and the defending champion Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League in October 1956. The series was a rematch of the 1955 World Series. It was the final Subway Series in the Fall Classic until 44 years later in 2000, as the Dodgers and the New York Giants moved to California following the 1957 season. Additionally, it was the last time a New York City team represented the National League in a World Series until 1969, when the New York Mets defeated the Baltimore Orioles in five games. The Yankees won the series in seven games, capturing their 17th championship. Brooklyn won Games 1 and 2, but New York pitchers threw five consecutive complete games (Games 3–7) to cap off the comeback. The highlight was Don Larsen's perfect game in Game 5. Larsen was named the Series MVP for his achievement. The Dodgers scored 19 runs in the first two games, but only six in the remaini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strikeout-to-walk Ratio
In baseball statistics, strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) is a measure of a pitcher's ability to control pitches, calculated as strikeouts divided by bases on balls. A hit by pitch is not counted statistically as a walk, and therefore not counted in the strikeout-to-walk ratio. The inverse of this calculation is the related statistic for hitters, walk-to-strikeout ratio (BB/K). Leaders Through 2022, the all-time career leaders among starting pitchers were Chris Sale (5.3333), Jacob de Grom (5.3036), and Tommy Bond (5.0363). Through May 22, 2019, the all-time career leaders among relievers were Koji Uehara (7.94), Sean Doolittle (6.41), and Roberto Osuna (6.33). The player with the highest single regular season K/BB ratio through 2022 was Minnesota Twins pitcher Phil Hughes in 2014, with a ratio of 11.625 (186 strikeouts and 16 walks). He is followed by Bret Saberhagen (11.00 in 1994) and Cliff Lee (10.28 in 2010). In 2016, Clayton Kershaw struck out 172 batters while w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Winning Percentage")
