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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 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 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 Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. The award has been presented by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) since 1931.
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown,New York,operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-related artifacts and exhibits,honoring those who have excelled in playing,managing,and serving the sport. The Hall's motto is "Preserving History,Honoring Excellence,Connecting Generations". Cooperstown is often used as shorthand for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
George Herman "Babe" Ruth was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons,from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat",he began his MLB career as a star left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox,but achieved his greatest fame as a slugging outfielder for the New York Yankees. Ruth is regarded as one of the greatest sports heroes in American culture and is considered by many to be the greatest baseball player of all time. In 1936,Ruth was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its "first five" inaugural members.
Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants from 1993 to 2007. He is considered to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15,1947. The Dodgers signing Robinson heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league and the highest level of organized baseball in the United States and Canada. One of the big four major leagues,MLB comprises 30 teams,divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL),with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. Formed in 1876 and 1901,respectively,the NL and AL cemented their cooperation with the National Agreement in 1903,making MLB the oldest major professional sports league in the world. They 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.
The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relatively successful leagues beginning in 1920 that are sometimes termed "Negro Major Leagues".
Willie Howard Mays Jr.,nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid",was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time,Mays was a five-tool player who began his career in the Negro leagues,playing for the Birmingham Black Barons,and spent the rest of his career in the National League (NL),playing for the New York / San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.
Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally,it is often called Puro Yakyū (プロ野球),meaning simply Professional Baseball;outside of Japan,NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball."
Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner,was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917,almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wagner won his eighth batting title in 1911,a National League record that remains unbroken to this day,and matched only once,in 1997,by Tony Gwynn. He also led the league in slugging six times and stolen bases five times. Wagner was nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman" due to his superb speed and German heritage. This nickname was a nod to the popular folk-tale made into a famous opera by the German composer Richard Wagner. In 1936,the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Wagner as one of the first five members. He received the second-highest vote total,behind Ty Cobb's 222 and tied with Babe Ruth at 215.
Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes,nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin",was a Puerto Rican first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1958 to 1974,primarily the San Francisco Giants. An 11-time All-Star,Cepeda was one of the most consistent power hitters in the National League (NL) through the 1960s and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley,which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the United States. Over 600 women played in the league,which eventually consisted of 10 teams located in the American Midwest. In 1948,league attendance peaked at over 900,000 spectators. The most successful team,the Rockford Peaches,won a league-best four championships.
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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
College baseball is baseball that is played by student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States,college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA);in Japan,it is governed by the All Japan University Baseball Federation (JUBF).
In baseball,batting average (BA) is determined by dividing a player's hits by their total at-bats. It is usually rounded to three decimal places and read without the decimal:A player with a batting average of .300 is "batting three-hundred". If necessary to break ties,batting averages could be taken beyond the .001 measurement. In this context,.001 is considered a "point",such that a .235 batter is five points higher than a .230 batter.
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central Division. Since the 2006 season,the Cardinals have played their home games at Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis. One of the nation's oldest and most successful professional baseball clubs,the Cardinals have won 11 World Series championships,the most of any NL team and second in MLB only to the New York Yankees. The team has won 19 National League pennants,third-most of any team behind the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. St. Louis has also won 15 division titles in the East and Central divisions.
Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball designated hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Shotime",he has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels and the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Because of his elite contributions as a hitter and as a pitcher,a rarity for two-way players,Ohtani's 2021,2022,and 2023 seasons are considered among the greatest in baseball history,with some comparing them favorably to the early career of Babe Ruth.
Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB),including teams affiliated with MLB clubs.
