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Willie Hernández
Guillermo Hernández Villanueva (born November 14, 1954) is a Puerto Rican former baseball relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic .... He won both the American League Cy Young Award and the American League Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award, Most Valuable Player Award in 1984 after leading the 1984 Detroit Tigers season, Detroit Tigers to the 1984 World Series, World Series championship. Hernández was born and raised in Aguada, Puerto Rico. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1973 and played in their minor-league system as a starting pitcher from 1974 to 1976. He was acquired by the Chicago Cubs in the 1976 Rule 5 Draft and played for the Cubs, principally as a relief pitcher, from 1977 to 1983. His performance improved markedly afte ... [...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] |
Relief Pitcher
In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather delays or pinch hitter substitutions. Relief pitchers are further divided informally into various roles, such as Closer (baseball), closers, setup men, middle relief pitchers, left-handed specialist, left/right-handed specialists, and long relievers. Whereas starting pitchers usually pitch count, throw so many pitches in a single game that they must rest several days before pitching in another, relief pitchers are expected to be more flexible and typically pitch in more games with a shorter time period between pitching appearances but with fewer innings pitched per appearance. A team's staff of relievers is normally referred to Metonymy, metonymically as a team's bullpen, which refers to the area where th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Closer (baseball)
In baseball, a closing pitcher, more frequently referred to as a closer (abbreviated CL), is a relief pitcher who specializes in getting the final outs in a close game when his team is leading. The role is often assigned to a team's best reliever. Before the 1990s, pitchers in similar roles were referred to as a fireman, short reliever, and stopper. A small number of closers have won the Cy Young Award. Eight closers have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame: Dennis Eckersley, Rollie Fingers, Goose Gossage, Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Lee Smith, Bruce Sutter and Hoyt Wilhelm. Usage A closer is generally a team's best reliever and designated to pitch the last few outs of games when his team is leading by a margin of three runs or fewer. Rarely does a closer enter with his team losing or in a tie game. A closer's effectiveness has traditionally been measured by the save, an official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1969. Over time, closers have become on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1983 World Series
The 1983 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1983 season. The 80th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League champion Baltimore Orioles and the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies. The Orioles won, four games to one. "The I-95 Series", like the World Series two years later, also took its nickname from the interstate that the teams and fans traveled on, Interstate 95 in this case. This was the last World Series that Bowie Kuhn presided over as commissioner. This is Baltimore's most recent World Series championship, and also their most recent appearance in a World Series. This was the first World Series since 1956 in which the teams did not use air travel, as Baltimore and Philadelphia are approximately apart. It was the Phillies’ second World Series appearance in four years. It would be 10 years before they would appear in the Fall Classic again and 25 years before th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP) of 1871–1875 (often called simply the "National Association"), the NL is sometimes called the Senior Circuit, in contrast to MLB's other league, the American League, which was founded 25 years later and is called the "Junior Circuit". Both leagues currently have 15 teams. After two years of conflict in a "baseball war" of 1901–1902, the two eight-team leagues agreed in a "peace pact" to recognize each other as "major leagues". As part of this agreement, they drafted rules regarding player contracts, prohibiting "raiding" of rosters, and regulating relationships with minor leagues and lower level clubs. Each league ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cut Fastball
In baseball, a cut fastball or cutter is a type of fastball that breaks toward the pitcher's glove-hand side, as it reaches home plate. This pitch is somewhere between a slider and a four-seam fastball, as it is usually thrown faster than a slider but with more movement than a typical fastball. Some pitchers use a cutter to prevent hitters from expecting their regular fastballs. A common technique for throwing a cutter is to use a four-seam fastball grip with the baseball set slightly off center in the hand. A batter hitting a cutter pitch often achieves only soft contact and an easy out due to the pitch's movement keeping the ball away from the bat's sweet spot. The cutter is typically 2–5 mph slower than a pitcher's four-seam fastball. In 2010, the average pitch classified as a cutter by PITCHf/x thrown by a right-handed pitcher was 88.6 mph; the average two-seamer was 90.97 mph. Professional practitioners The New York Yankees' former closer Mariano Rivera, one ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Screwball
A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known as the scroogie or airbender. Carl Hubbell was one of the most renowned screwball pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. Hubbell was known as the "scroogie king" for his mastery of the pitch and the frequency with which he threw it. Other famous screwball artists include Tug McGraw, inaugural Hall of Fame member Christy Matthewson, and Cy Young Award winners Mike Cuellar, Fernando Valenzuela, Mike Marshall, and Willie Hernández. Grip and action The baseball is held with the open end of the horseshoe shape (where the seams are closest together) facing upward. The thumb is placed just beneath the bottom of the horseshoe, the index finger is curled against the top of the thumb, forming a tight circle to the side of the ball. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Starting Pitcher
In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pitchers are expected to pitch for a significant portion of the game, although their ability to do this depends on many factors, including effectiveness, stamina, health, and strategy. A starting pitcher in professional baseball usually rests three, four, or five days after pitching a game before pitching in another. Therefore, most professional baseball teams have four, five or six starting pitchers on their rosters. These pitchers, and the sequence in which they pitch, is known as the ''rotation''. A team's best starter is known as the ace, and is almost always the first man to pitch in the rotation. In modern baseball, a five-man rotation is most common. In contrast, a pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1984 World Series
The 1984 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1984 season. The 81st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Detroit Tigers and the National League (NL) champion San Diego Padres. The Tigers won the series, four games to one. This was the city of Detroit's first sports championship since the Tigers themselves won the 1968 World Series. This was the first World Series that Peter Ueberroth presided over as commissioner. Ueberroth began his tenure on October 1, succeeding Bowie Kuhn. Ueberroth had been elected as Kuhn's successor prior to the 1984 season, but did not take over until the postseason as he was serving as the chairman of the 1984 Summer Olympics, which ran from July 28 through August 12. This was the last World Series in which the designated hitter was used for games played in an NL team's ballpark in the World Series (as in even-numbered years, the DH would be u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1984 Detroit Tigers Season
The 1984 Detroit Tigers won the 1984 World Series, defeating the San Diego Padres, 4 games to 1. The season was their 84th since they entered the American League in 1901. It was the franchise's best season in terms of overall wins (104) and their best win percentage (.642) in a 162-game season. The Tigers led the American League Eastern Division wire-to-wire, opening the season 9–0 and eventually topping out at 35–5 after 40 games. The team won its first Division title since 1972, their first AL Pennant since 1968 (and ninth overall) and the franchise's fourth (and most recent) World championship. Detroit relief pitcher Willie Hernández won the Cy Young Award and was chosen as the American League Most Valuable Player. Players Catcher: Parrish Catcher Lance Parrish, known as the "Big Wheel", led the team in home runs (33) and RBIs (98) -- and strikeouts (120) as well. Parrish was the starting catcher for the American League All Star team and won the Gold Glove and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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