Home About us Products Services Contact us Bookmark
:: wikimiki.org ::
Luis Rodriguez Olmo

Luis Rodriguez Olmo

Luis Francisco Rodríguez Olmo (born August 11, 1919) in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, best known as Luis Olmo, is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter. Olmo played in the Majors with the Brooklyn Dodgers (1943-45, 1949) and Boston Braves (1950-51). Boston Braves Olmo debuted with the Dodgers on July 23, 1943. In 57 games he batted .303 with four home runs and 37 RBI. He gained regular status in the next season, batting for .258 with nine home runs and 85 RBI in 136 games. On May 10, 1945, in a 15-12 Dodgers victory over the Cubs, Olmo hit a triple and one home run, each with the bases loaded. No 20th Century major league player has done that since. He added a double for good measure, only failing to hit a single to complete the cycle. In that season he led the league in triples (13) and reached high career numbers in batting average (.313), home runs (10), RBI (110), doubles (27), stolen bases (15) and games (141). In 1946, Olmo was among a group of players whom were lured to play in the Mexican League by the promise of higher salaries. This group of players was suspended by Baseball Commissioner Happy Chandler for jumping the Major Leagues. Two years later, Olmo was reinstated in the majors and he returned to the Dodgers, batting .305 to help win the pennant. In the 1949 World Series against the Yankees, Olmo became the first Puerto Rican to play in a World Series; to hit a home run, and to get three hits in a Series game. After a couple of seasons, he was dealt to the Braves. He retired at the end of the 1951 season. In six-year career, Olmo batted .281 (458-for-1629) with 29 home runs, 208 runs, 65 doubles, 25 triples, and 33 stolen bases in 462 games. Many Puerto Rican fans consider Olmo to have been as gifted as Roberto Clemente and Roberto Alomar, among other countrymen players. He also played in four Caribbean World Series. In 1951 he was selected the Most Valuable Player in the Series played at Caracas, batting .416 with three homers, and powering the Cangrejeros de Santurce (Santurce Crabbers) to the championship. He also helped the Cangrejeros to the league title in 1953. In over three Caribbean Series work, Olmo hit for .303 and had 13 RBI playing for Santurce, Caguas and San Juan teams. His best friend was former big-leaguer Rubén Gómez, who pitched for the Giants. On October 1, 1954, Gómez became the first Puerto Rican to pitch in a World Series (in Game 3), to get a victory, and to win a Championship Ring, in the Giants' four-game sweep over the Cleveland Indians. Upon learning of Gómez' death in July 2004, Olmo rushed to attend the funeral services. He was pictured on the cover of the newspaper El Vocero de Puerto Rico, visibly consternated next to the Gómez casket. Olmo was selected to the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame on February 6, 2004. His baseball career will be part of a an American documentary titled "Beisbol", directed by Alan Swyer and narrated by Esai Morales, which pretend cover the early influences and contributions of hispanics in the game. The City of Arecibo has honored Luis Rodríguez Olmo by naming a stadium after him.

See also


- Players from Puerto Rico in MLB
- Sports in Puerto Rico
- List of famous Puerto Ricans

External links


- [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/O/Olmo_Luis.stm Page at Baseball Library]
- [http://www.baseball-reference.com/o/olmolu01.shtml Page at Baseball Reference] Olmo, Luis Rodríguez Olmo, Luis Rodríguez Olmo, Luis Rodríguez

August 11

August 11 is the 223rd day of the year (224th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 142 days remaining.

Events


- 3114 BC - On this date in the proleptic Gregorian calendar begins our current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar.
- 480 BC - Persians under Xerxes defeat Spartans under King Leonidas in the Battle of Thermopylae. The Spartans fought to the last man.
- 480 BC - The Persian and Greek fleets also fight the indecisive Battle of Artemisium.
- 1492 - Alexander VI is elected Pope.
- 1711 - The first race meeting was held at Ascot
- 1858 - First ascent of the Eiger.
- 1898 - American troops enter the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War.
- 1918 - World War I - Battle of Amiens ends
- 1919 - Constitution of Weimar Republic adopted
- 1920 - The Latvia - Soviet Russia peace treaty which relinquished Russia`s authority and pretences to Latvian nation and territory for all time. In 1940 the Soviet Union unilaterally broke this Treaty and occupied Latvia
- 1929 - Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.
- 1934 - Federal prison opened at Alcatraz Island
- 1943 - World War II - First Quebec Conference of Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, T. V. Soong and William Lyon Mackenzie King begins.
- 1951 - René Pleven becomes Prime Minister of France
- 1952 - Hussein proclaimed king of Jordan
- 1956 - Jackson Pollock Died in car crash East Hampton, NY
- 1960 - Chad declares independence
- 1965 - Race riots (the Watts riots) begin in Watts area of Los Angeles, California
- 1966 - John Lennon holds a press conference in Chicago excusing himself from the "Jesus affair"
- 1970 - A trademark application by the Van Brode Milling Company for the word Spork was published by the USPTO.
- 1972 - Last United States ground combat unit departs South Vietnam
- 1984 - United States President Ronald Reagan, during a voice check for a radio broadcast remarks "My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes".
- 1987 - Alan Greenspan becomes Chairman of the United States Federal Reserve.
- 1991- The three original Nicktoons, Doug, Rugrats, and The Ren and Stimpy Show make their debuts on the Nickelodeon cable channel.
- 1995 - Three people are killed when a TTC train hits the back of a stationary train near Toronto's Dupont Station.
- 1999 - A total solar eclipse visible from Europe and Asia.
- 2003 - NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
- 2003 - Jemaah Islamiyah leader Riduan Isamuddin, better known as Hambali, is arrested in Bangkok, Thailand.

Births


- 1667 - Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, last of the Medicis (d. 1743)
- 1673 - Richard Mead, English physician (d. 1754)
- 1718 - Sir Frederick Haldimand, Swiss-born British colonial governor (d. 1791)
- 1722 - Richard Brocklesby, English physician (d. 1797)
- 1794 - James Barton Longacre, American engraver (d. 1869)
- 1807 - David Rice Atchison, American politician (d. 1886)
- 1833 - Robert G. Ingersoll, American politician and soldier (d. 1899)
- 1833 - Kido Takayoshi, Japanese politician (d. 1877)
- 1837 - Marie François Sadi Carnot, French statesman (d. 1894)
- 1858 - Christiaan Eijkman, Dutch physician and pathologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1930)
- 1863 - Gaston Doumergue, President of France (d. 1937)
- 1870 - Tom Richardson, English cricketer (d. 1912).
- 1872 - Shidehara Kijuro, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1951)
- 1892 - Eiji Yoshikawa, Japanese novelist (d. 1962)
- 1897 - Louise Bogan, American poet (d. 1970)
- 1897 - Enid Blyton, English author (d. 1968)
- 1902 - Alfredo Binda, Italian cyclist (d. 1986)
- 1902 - Lloyd Nolan, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1905 - Erwin Chargaff, Austrian biochemist (d. 2002)
- 1912 - Eva Ahnert-Rohlfs, German astronomer (d. 1954)
- 1912 - Thanom Kittikachorn, Prime Minister of Thailand (d. 2004)
- 1913 - Angus Wilson, British novelist (d. 1991)
- 1919 - Ginette Neveu, French violinist (d. 1949)
- 1921 - Alex Haley, American historian and novelist (d. 1992)
- 1926 - Aaron Klug, Lithuanian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1928 - Arlene Dahl, American actress
- 1932 - Fernando Arrabal, Spanish writer
- 1933 - Jerry Falwell, American preacher and politician
- 1943 - Abigail Folger, American heiress (d. 1969)
- 1943 - Pervez Musharraf, Pakistani general and leader
- 1944 - Ian McDiarmid, Scottish actor
- 1946 - Marilyn vos Savant, American newspaper columnist
- 1950 - Gennidy Nikonov, Russian weapons inventor
- 1950 - Steve Wozniak, American computer pioneer
- 1953 - Hulk Hogan, American professional wrestler
- 1954 - Joe Jackson, English singer
- 1954 - Juan Maria Solare, Argentine composer and pianist
- 1955 - Sylvia Hermon, British politician
- 1957 - Richie Ramone, American drummer (The Ramones)
- 1964 - Jim Lee, Korean-born comic book artist and publisher
- 1966 - Nigel Martyn, English footballer
- 1967 - Joe Rogan, American comedian and television host
- 1967 - Enrique Bunbury, Spanish singer and songwriter
- 1970 - Andy Bell, English bass player (Oasis)
- 1972 - Jonathon Prandi, American model
- 1974 - Audrey Mestre, French diver
- 1980 - Lee Suggs, American football player

Deaths


- 480 BC - Leonidas, King of Sparta
- AD 897 - Wilfred the Hairy, Count of Barcelona
- 1204 - King Guttorm of Norway (b. 1199)
- 1253 - Clare of Assisi, Italian follower of Francis of Assisi (b. 1194)
- 1464 - Nicholas of Cusa, German philosopher and mathematician (b. 1401)
- 1519 - Johann Tetzel, German opponent of the Reformation (b. 1465)
- 1563 - Bartolomé de Escobedo, Spanish composer
- 1578 - Pedro Nunes, Portuguese mathematician (b. 1502)
- 1614 - Lavinia Fontana, Italian painter (b. 1552)
- 1656 - Prince Octavio Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi, Austrian field marshal (b. 1599)
- 1676 - Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen, German writer
- 1774 - Tiphaigne de la Roche, French writer (b. 1722)
- 1813 - Henry James Pye, English poet (b. 1745)
- 1851 - Lorenz Oken, German naturalist (b. 1779)
- 1890 - John Henry Cardinal Newman, English Catholic cardinal (b. 1801)
- 1919 - Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-born industrialist and philanthropist (b. 1835)
- 1937 - Edith Wharton, American author (b. 1862)
- 1939 - Jean Bugatti, Italian automobile designer (b. 1909)
- 1953 - Tazio Nuvolari, Italian race car driver (b. 1892)
- 1956 - Jackson Pollock, American artist (b. 1912)
- 1972 - Max Theiler, South African virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1899)
- 1973 - Karl Ziegler, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
- 1984 - Alfred A. Knopf, American publisher (b. 1892)
- 1988 - Anne Ramsey, American actress (b. 1929)
- 1996 - Rafael Kubelik, Czech-born conductor and composer (b. 1914)
- 2003 - Armand Borel, Swiss mathematician (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Herb Brooks, American hockey coach (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances


- Taiwan - Valentine's day
- Zimbabwe - Heroes Day
- Qi Xi (2005, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month of the Chinese calendar)

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/11 BBC: On This Day]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/20050811.html The New York Times: On This Day] ---- August 10 - August 12 - July 11 - September 11 -- listing of all days ko:8월 11일 ms:11 Ogos ja:8月11日 simple:August 11 th:11 สิงหาคม

Arecibo, Puerto Rico

Arecibo is a municipality in Puerto Rico named after the Taíno Cacique Arasibo. Arecibo is also known as the Villa del Capitán Correa after the Puerto Rican hero Captain Antonio de los Reyes Correa, who as a member of the Spanish Army defended Arecibo from a British invasion. Arecibo is located on the north coast of the island of Puerto Rico, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of San Juan, or approximately a 1-hour trip by car. It is known for the nearby world-famous Arecibo Observatory, which boasts the largest single telescope ever constructed. While the observatory exists to support scientific studies, a number of Hollywood movies have been filmed there, most recently GoldenEye and Contact. Also nearby () is a facility for launching sounding rockets. Since 1966 many rockets of the Nike Apache, Nike Javelin, Nike Iroquois, Nike Tomahawk, Black Brant, Taurus Orion, and Terrier Orion types have been launched from this facility. Arecibo has a small noncommercial airport, which has not had airline flights in about two decades. Arecibo's main shopping malls are Plaza del Atlántico and Plaza del Norte.

Sports

Arecibo used to have two professional franchises, the Lobos de Arecibo in baseball and the Capitanes de Arecibo in BSN basketball. The Lobos have had slightly better luck than the Capitanes, winning the 1983 national baseball championship and the 1983 Caribbean World Series, the only time the franchise won both titles. At that time, they had MLB prospect Dickie Thon, then also of the Houston Astros, on their roster. Thon then suffered a life-threatening and career-affecting eye injury during an Astros game in 1984. The Lobos ceased operation a decade later. The Capitanes have not had much luck in their basketball tournaments, but in 2002, they started to turn things around, losing in 7 games in semifinals to the Vaqueros, after having a 3-0 game lead in the series. The Capitanes won the National Superior Basketball championship on 2005 beating the Vaqueros of Bayamón in 4 games. This was the first championship in 46 years.

External links


- [http://www.naic.edu/ Arecibo Observatory Home]
- [http://www.astronautix.com/sites/arecibo.htm Rocket launches from Arecibo] Category:Municipalities of Puerto Rico
-

Outfielder

Category:Baseball positions Category:Baseball positions Outfielder is a collective term including left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder, the three positions in baseball farthest from the batter. Outfielders are primarily engaged in attempting to catch long fly balls. Most of the biggest power hitters in baseball played in the outfield, where they do not have as constant involvement in fielding plays as other positions, especially before the institution of the designated hitter. For example, Babe Ruth was moved from pitcher to the outfield (playing left field most of the time except when the Yankees put him in right field in home games in Yankee Stadium). ja:外野手

Los Angeles Dodgers

:Brooklyn Dodgers redirects here. For the 1930s NFL team of that name, see Brooklyn Dodgers (football). ---- The Los Angeles Dodgers are a Major League Baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. They are in the Western Division of the National League. The team originated in Brooklyn before moving to Los Angeles for the 1958 season.

Franchise history

Early Brooklyn history

The City of Brooklyn had a history of outstanding baseball clubs dating back to the mid-1850's, notably the Brooklyn Atlantics, the Brooklyn Eckfords and the Brooklyn Excellsiors, who combined to dominate play through the late 1860's as part of the National Association of Base Ball Players. The first baseball game requiring paid admission was an all star contest between New York and Brooklyn in 1858. Brooklyn also featured the first two enclosed baseball grounds, the Union Grounds and the Capitoline Grounds, which accelerated the evolution of the game from amateurism to professionalism. Despite the success of Brooklyn clubs in amateur play, however, no strong Brooklyn-based club emerged after the first professional league, the National Association of Professional Baseball Players, was formed in 1871. The Brooklyn baseball club that would become the Dodgers was first formed in 1883, and joined the American Association the following year. The "Bridegrooms" won the AA pennant in 1889. Upon switching to the National League in 1890, the franchise became the only one in MLB history to win pennants in different leagues in consecutive years. Eight years passed before any more success followed. Several Hall of Fame players were sold to Brooklyn by the soon-to-be-defunct Baltimore Orioles, along with their manager, Ned Hanlon. This catapulted Brooklyn to instant contention, and "Hanlon's Superbas" lived up to their name, winning pennants in 1899 and 1900. Teams of this era played in two principle ballparks, Washington Park and Eastern Park. They first earned the nickname "Trolley Dodgers," later shortened to Dodgers, while at Eastern Park during the 1890s because of the difficulty fans had in reaching the ballpark due to the number of trolley lines in the area. The club also engaged in a series of mergers during this period, acquiring the New York Metropolitans in 1888 for territorial protection and star contracts, merging with the Brooklyn Wonders in 1891 as part of the Players League settlement, and merging with the Baltimore Orioles (NL) in 1900 as part of the National League's consolidation of clubs. In 1902, Hanlon expressed his desire to buy a controlling interest in the team and move it (back, effectively) to Baltimore. His plan was blocked by a lifelong club employee, Charles Ebbets, who put himself heavily in debt to buy the team and keep it in the borough. Ebbets' ambition did not stop at owning the team. He desired to replace the dilapidated Washington Park with a new ballpark, and again invested heavily to finance the construction of Ebbets Field, which would become the Dodgers' home in 1913.

"Uncle Robbie" and the "Daffiness Boys"

Manager Wilbert Robinson, another former Oriole, popularly known as "Uncle Robbie," restored the Brooklyn team to respectability, with the "Robins" winning pennants in 1916 and 1920 and contending perennially for several seasons. Upon assuming the title of president, however, Robinson's ability to focus on the field declined, and the teams of the late 1920s became known as the "Daffiness Boys" for their distracted, error-ridden style of play. Outfielder Babe Herman was the leader both in hitting and in zaniness. After his removal as club president, Robinson returned to managing, and the club's performance rebounded somewhat. It was during this era that Willard Mullin, a noted sports cartoonist, fixed the Brooklyn team with the lovable nickname of "Dem Bums." After hearing his cab driver ask "So how did those bums do today?" Mullin decided to sketch an exaggerated version of famed circus clown Emmett Kelly to represent the Dodgers in his much-praised cartoons in the New York World-Telegram. Both the image and the nickname caught on, so much so that many a Dodger yearbook cover featured a Willard Mullin illustration with the Brooklyn Bum. Perhaps the highlight of the Daffiness Boys era came after Wilbert Robinson had left the dugout. In 1934, New York Giants manager Bill Terry was asked about the Dodgers' chances in the coming pennant race and cracked infamously, "Is Brooklyn still in the league?" Managed now by Casey Stengel (who played for the Dodgers in the 1910s and would go on to greatness managing another team), the 1934 Dodgers were determined to make their presence felt. As it happened, the season ended with the Giants tied with the St. Louis Cardinals for the pennant, with the Giants' remaining games against the Dodgers. Stengel led his Bums to the Polo Grounds for the showdown and beat the Giants twice to knock them out of the pennant race. The "Gas House Gang" Cardinals nailed the pennant by beating the Reds those same two days. The first major-league baseball game to be televised was Brooklyn's 6-1 victory over Cincinnati at Ebbets Field on August 26, 1939. Batting helmets were introduced to Major League Baseball by the Dodgers in 1941 1941

Breaking the color line

For the first half of the 20th century, not a single African-American played on a Major League Baseball team. A parallel system of Negro Leagues developed, but many of the era's most talented players never got a chance to prove their skill before a national audience. The first step in ending this injustice was taken by Jackie Robinson, when he played his first major-league game on April 15, 1947, as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers. This event was the harbinger of the integration of sports in the United States, the concomitant demise of the Negro Leagues, and is regarded as a key moment in the history of the American Civil Rights movement. Robinson was an exceptional player, a speedy runner who sparked the whole team with his intensity, and was the given the inaugural Rookie of the Year award.

"Wait 'til next year!"

After the wilderness years of the 1920s and 1930s, the Dodgers were rebuilt into a contending club first by general manager Larry MacPhail and then the legendary Branch Rickey. Led by Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson and Gil Hodges in the infield, Duke Snider in center field, Roy Campanella behind the plate, and Don Newcombe on the pitcher's mound, the Dodgers won pennants in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, and 1953. In all five of those World Series, however, they were defeated by the New York Yankees. The annual ritual of building excitement, followed in the end by disappointment, became old hat to the long suffering fans, and "Wait 'til next year!" became an unofficial Dodger slogan. In 1955, by which time the core of the team was beginning to age, "next year" finally came. The fabled "Boys of Summer" shot down the Bronx Bombers in seven games, led by the first-class pitching of young left hander Johnny Podres, whose key pitch was a changeup known as "pulling down the lampshade" because of the arm motion used right when the ball was released. Podres won two Series games including the deciding seventh. The turning point of Game 7 was a spectacular double play that began with left fielder Sandy Amoros running down Yogi Berra's long fly, then throwing perfectly to shortstop Pee Wee Reese, who doubled up a surprised Gil McDougald at first base to preserve the Dodger lead. Although the Dodgers again lost the World Series to the Yankees in 1956 (in which they became the victims of history's only postseason perfect game), it hardly seemed to matter. Brooklyn fans had their memory of triumph, and soon that would be all they were left with.

The move to California

perfect game Real estate businessman Walter O'Malley had acquired majority ownership of the team in 1950, when he bought the shares of his co-owner Branch Rickey. Before long he was working to buy new land in Brooklyn to build a more accessible and better arrayed ballpark than Ebbets Field. Beloved as it was, Ebbets Field had grown old and was not well-served by infrastructure, to the point where the most pennant-competitive team in the National League couldn't sell the park out even in the heat of a pennant race. New York City building czar Robert Moses, however, sought to force O'Malley into using a site in Flushing Meadows, Queens (the future site for Shea Stadium, where today's New York Mets play). Moses' vision involved a city-built, city-owned park, which was greatly at odds with O'Malley's real-estate savvy. When it became clear to O'Malley that he wasn't going to be allowed to buy any suitable land in Brooklyn, he began thinking elsewhere. When the Los Angeles city fathers attended the 1955 World Series looking to entice a team to move to the City of Angels, they weren't even thinking of the Dodgers. Their original target was the Washington Senators (who would in fact move to Minnesota in 1961). At the same time, O'Malley was looking for a contingency in case Moses and other New York politicians refused to let him build the Brooklyn stadium he wanted. O'Malley sent word to the Los Angeles officials at the Series that he was interested in talking. Los Angeles offered him what New York would not: a chance to buy land suitable for building a new ballpark. Meanwhile, New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham was having similar difficulty finding a replacement for his antiquated home stadium, and the two archrival teams moved out to the West Coast together. On April 18, 1958, the Dodgers played their first game in Los Angeles, defeating the San Francisco Giants, 6-5, before 78,672 fans at the Coliseum. There has been much controversy over the move of the Dodgers to California, perhaps more than over any other franchise move of that era. Walter O'Malley, in particular, is described as villainous by some and admirable by others. Certainly he demonstrated some measure of selfishness and greed, but the same is also true of the New York City politicians who opposed him. Both sides were quite stubborn, and fatally misjudged each other. It should also be noted that Brooklyn had declined in many ways, under various social pressures, and was a much less desirable location for a baseball team than it had been. In fact, both sides in the stadium dispute proposed to remove the Dodgers from Brooklyn (Moses' plan for a team in Flushing Meadows was realized several years later, with little alteration, in the New York Mets). O'Malley also deserves credit as a visionary. Until 1958, St. Louis had generally been the westernmost outpost of Major League Baseball, whereas 12 of baseball's 30 teams now have their homes farther west. O'Malley was primarily concerned with making himself very rich (which he did), and certainly he broke the heart of many a New Yorker, but his move also helped lead the game of baseball to greater prominence and prosperity.

A new start

The process of building Walter O'Malley's dream stadium soon began in semi-rural Chavez Ravine, in the hills just north of downtown L.A. There was some political controversy, as the residents of the ravine, mostly Hispanic and mostly poor, resisted the eminent domain removal of their homes, and gained some public sympathy. Still, O'Malley and the city government were determined, and construction proceeded. In the meantime, the Dodgers played their home games from 1958 to 1961 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a gargantuan football and track-and-field stadium that had been built to host the 1932 Summer Olympics. The Coliseum's dimensions were not optimal for baseball, and the only way to fit a diamond into the oval-shaped stadium was to lay the third-base line along the short axis of the oval, and the first-base line along the long axis. [http://www.ballparkwatch.com/stadiums/past/la_coliseum.htm See picture.] This resulted in a left-field fence that was only some 250 feet from home plate, and a 40-foot screen was erected to prevent home runs from becoming too easy to hit. Still, the 1958 season saw 182 home runs hit to left field in the Coliseum, while only 3 were hit to center field and 8 to right field. Dodgers outfielder Wally Moon, newly acquired for the 1959 season, became adept at launching lazy fly balls over the screen, which became known as "Moon shots." In 1959, the Dodgers benefited from a general decline in the National League. No team was dominant, and several teams were in the thick of the pennant race until the very end. The season ended in a tie between the Dodgers and the Milwaukee Braves, and the Dodgers won the tie-breaking playoff. 1959 also saw a team other than the Yankees win the A.L. pennant, one of only two such years between 1949 and 1964. In a lively World Series, the Dodgers defeated the "Go-Go" White Sox in 6 games, thoroughly cementing the bond between the team and its new California fans.

Pitching, defense, and speed

White Sox Construction on Dodger Stadium was completed in time for Opening Day 1962. With its clean, simple lines and its picturesque setting amid hills and palm trees, the ballpark quickly became an icon of the Dodgers and their new California lifestyle, and it remains a beloved landmark to this day. O'Malley was determined that there would not be a bad seat in the house, achieving this by cantilevered grandstands that have since been widely imitated. More importantly for the team, the stadium's spacious dimensions, along with other factors, gave defense an advantage over offense, and the Dodgers moved to take advantage of this by assembling a team that would excel with its pitching. The core of the team's success in the 1960's was the dominant pitching tandem of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, who combined to win 4 of the 5 Cy Young Awards from 1962 to 1966. Top pitching also came from Claude Osteen, an aging Johnny Podres, and reliever Ron Perranoski. The hitting attack, on the other hand, was not impressive, and much of the offensive spark came from the exploits of speedy shortstop Maury Wills, who led the league in stolen bases every year from 1960 to 1965, and set a modern record with 104 thefts in 1962. The Dodgers' strategy was once described as follows: "Wills hits a single, steals second, and takes third on a grounder. A sacrifice fly brings him home. Koufax or Drysdale pitches a shutout, and the Dodgers win 1-0." Although few games followed this model exactly, the Dodgers indeed won a great many low-scoring games. 1962 The 1962 pennant race ended in a tie, and the Dodgers were defeated by the archrival Giants in the tie-breaking playoff, but the Dodgers proceeded to win the pennant in three of the next four years. The 1963 World Series was a 4-game sweep of the Yankees, in which the Dodgers so dominated that the vaunted Bronx Bombers never even took a lead against Koufax, Podres, and Drysdale. After an injury-plagued 1964, the Dodgers bounced back to win the 1965 World Series in a thrilling 7 games against the Minnesota Twins. Game 1 happened to fall on Yom Kippur, and Koufax (who is Jewish) refused to pitch on the holy day. The Dodgers rebounded from losing the first two games, as Koufax pitched shutouts in Games 5 and 7 (with only two days rest in between) to win the crown and the World Series MVP award. The Dodgers again won the pennant in 1966, but the team was running out of gas and was swept by the upstart Baltimore Orioles (who went on to a successful run through the late '60s and early '70s). Koufax retired that winter, his career cut short by arthritis in his elbow, and Wills was traded away after offending Walter O'Malley. Drysdale continued to be effective, setting a record for consecutive scoreless innings in 1968, but he too retired early due to injuries. While the Dodgers were subpar for several seasons, a new core of young talent was developing in their farm system. A pennant in 1974, though quickly quashed by the dynastic Oakland A's, was a sign of good things to come.

The Lasorda years

Oakland A's For 23 years, beginning in 1954, the Dodgers had been managed by Walter Alston, a quiet and unflappable man who commanded great respect from his players. Alston's tenure is the third-longest in baseball history for a manager with a single team, after Connie Mack and John McGraw. His retirement near the end of the 1976 season, after winning 7 pennants and 4 World Series titles over his career, cleared the way for an entirely different personality to take the helm of the Dodgers. Tommy Lasorda was a 49-year-old former pitcher (never very successful in that capacity), who had been the team's top coach under Alston, and before that had been manager of the Dodgers' top minor league team. He was colorful and gregarious, an enthusiastic cheerleader in contrast to Alston's taciturn demeanor. He quickly became a larger-than-life personality, associating with Frank Sinatra and other celebrities, and eating Italian food in large volumes. He became well-known for sayings such as, "If you cut me, I bleed Dodger blue," and for referring to God as "the big Dodger in the sky." Although some considered his persona to be a schtick and to find it wearing, his enthusiasm won him a reputation as an "ambassador for baseball," and it is impossible to think of the Dodgers from the late '70s to the early '90s without thinking of Lasorda. Another transition had recently occurred, higher up in the Dodgers management. Walter O'Malley passed control of the team to his son Peter, who would continue to oversee the Dodgers on his family's behalf through 1998. New blood had also been injected into the team on the field. The core of the team was now the infield, composed of Steve Garvey (1B), Davey Lopes (2B), Bill Russell (SS), and Ron Cey (3B). These four remained in the starting lineup together from 1973 to 1981, longer than any other infield foursome in baseball history. The pitching staff remained strong, anchored by Don Sutton and Tommy John. The Dodgers won NL West titles in both 1977 and 1978, both times defeating the Philadelphia Phillies to advance to the World Series, only to be defeated both times by the Yankees. In 1980, they swept 3 games from the Houston Astros to finish the regular season in a tie, but lost to the Astros in the tie-breaking playoff.

Fernando and the "Bulldog"

Houston Astros The Opening Day starting pitcher for 1981 was a 20-year-old rookie from Mexico: Fernando Valenzuela. Pressed into service due to an injury to Jerry Reuss, Valenzuela pitched a shutout that day, and proceeded to win his first 8 decisions through mid-May. The youthful left-hander, speaking only Spanish but sporting a devastating screwball, became a sensation. "Fernandomania" gripped Southern California, as huge crowds turned out to see him pitch. Valenzuela became the only pitcher ever to win the Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in the same season. The Dodgers' torrid start assured them of a playoff berth in the strike-shortened split season, and they proceeded to defeat the Yankees in the World Series. The Dodgers won NL West titles in 1983 and 1985, but lost the Championship Series in both those years (to the Phillies and Cardinals, respectively). The 1985 NLCS was particularly memorable for Game 6, in which the Dodgers were protecting a 5-4 lead in the ninth inning, hoping to force a deciding seventh game. With two runners on and first base open, Lasorda elected not to walk Cards slugger Jack Clark, who proceeded to hit a home run and send St. Louis to the World Series. After 7 years of high strikeout totals, and a 21-win season in 1986, Valenzuela sat out for most of the 1988 season. Plagued by arm troubles that were widely blamed on his being overused by Lasorda, his effectiveness faded before he turned 30. The new anchor of the pitching staff was a bespectacled string-bean of a right-hander named Orel Hershiser. He had been given the nickname "Bulldog" by Lasorda, more as a hopeful motivational tool than an objective description of his personality, but by 1988 he had matured into one of baseball's most effective pitchers. That year he won 23 games and the Cy Young Award, and broke Don Drysdale's record by tossing 59 consecutive scoreless innings, ending with a 10-inning shutout on his final start of the season. The 1988 Championship is all the more magical for the fact that the Dodgers were hardly baseball's best team on paper. They enjoyed career years from several players, and were inspired by the fiery intensity of newcomer Kirk Gibson (the league's Most Valuable Player that year), as well as the quiet but steady Hershiser and the always ebullient Lasorda. Although they entered the NLCS as decided underdogs to the powerful New York Mets, the Dodgers pulled out a thrilling back-and-forth series in 7 games. The World Series matched them with an even more powerful opponent, the Oakland A's of Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. The A's took an early lead in Game 1 on a grand slam by Canseco, and led 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth. In a surprise move, Gibson, hobbling with injuries to both his legs, pinch hit against the formidable Dennis Eckersley. Gibson's dramatic home run has been called one of the most memorable moments in baseball history, and it set the tone for the rest of the Series. Hershiser dominated Games 2 and 5, and was on the mound when the stunning upset was complete.

The Nineties and the Fox Era

Dennis Eckersley After 1988, the Dodgers did not win another postseason game until 2004, though they did reach the playoffs in 1995 and 1996, and narrowly missed in 1991 and strike-cancelled 1994. Hershiser, like Valenzuela before him, suffered an arm injury in 1990 due to overwork, which took the edge off his effectiveness for the remainder of his career. From 1992 to 1996, five consecutive Dodgers were named Rookie of the Year: Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raúl Mondesí, Hideo Nomo, and Todd Hollandsworth. After nearly 20 years at the helm, Lasorda retired in 1996, though he still remains with the Dodgers as an executive vice-president. He was replaced as manager by longtime Dodgers shortstop Bill Russell. Nearly a half-century of unusual stability (only two managers 1954-1996, owned by a single family 1950-1998) finally came to an end. In 1998, the O'Malley family sold the Dodgers to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, owner of the Fox network and 20th Century Fox. Among the new ownership's early moves were trading away popular catcher Piazza, and replacing Russell with celebrity manager Davey Johnson. Johnson's volatile tenure ended two years later, and he was followed as manager by Jim Tracy. To fans accustomed to the personal touch of the O'Malleys, the Fox corporate ownership often seemed clumsy and distracted. Huge contracts were awarded to injury-prone pitchers Kevin Brown and Darren Dreifort, unprofitably tying up money that could have improved the team in many other areas. Yet the team became more steady on the field in the early 2000's, with four consecutive winning seasons under the leadership of manager Tracy, slugger Shawn Green, third baseman Adrián Beltré, and catcher Paul Lo Duca. The 2002 season was marked by the emergence of Eric Gagne as one of baseball's top relief pitchers. Gagne won the Cy Young Award in 2003.

The DePodesta Experiment

In 2004, the Dodgers were returned to family ownership, as News Corp sold the team to real estate developer Frank McCourt. McCourt immediately hired Paul DePodesta, schooled in Billy Beane's methods of using statistical approaches to evaluate players, as general manager. With a team largely assembled by DePodesta's predecessors, augmented by some shrewd acquisitions, the Dodgers were near the top of the standings through much of 2004. In an effort to put the team over the top, DePodesta then executed a blockbuster series of mid-season trades, sending away three starting players (including popular team leader LoDuca) and two key pitchers, while obtaining several new players. The Dodgers did win the NL West in 2004, but went down quickly in the Division Series to the pennant-winning St. Louis Cardinals. During the winter of 2004-05, the team parted with several more longtime players, including Beltre and Green. Their replacements included starting pitcher Derek Lowe, outfielder J.D. Drew, and hard-hitting second baseman Jeff Kent. DePodesta's radical overhaul did not bear fruit in 2005, as the Dodgers suffered from clubhouse strife and decimating injuries, finishing with their second-worst record in Los Angeles history. Supporters of DePodesta note that many of the players he let go also had sub-par seasons elsewhere, but he was widely blamed for ignoring "chemistry" and other intangible factors in the players he acquired or let go. Manager Jim Tracy parted ways with the team, citing irreconcilable differences with DePodesta. But DePodesta himself was fired by McCourt less than a month later, McCourt later citing DePodesta's lack of leadership and personal skills. Ned Colletti was hired as the new Dodger GM on 17 November 2005. Grady Little was named the new manager on 6 December 2005.

Other historical notes

Team nickname

Prior to the declaration of an official team nickname in 1933, sportswriters and fans applied a number of nicknames to the club. Early names included the Brooks, the Atlantics (after an earlier Brooklyn Atlantics club), and the Bridegrooms (after several players married prior to the 1888 season). When the streetcar lines were set up in Brooklyn, writers began calling the city and the team by the somewhat pejorative term Trolley Dodgers, which became shortened to Dodgers. Under manager Ned Hanlon (1899-1905), the team became known as the Superbas, after a popular (though unrelated) acrobatic troupe at that time called "Hanlon's Superbas." Under manager Wilbert Robinson (1914-1931), the team was known as the Robins, though newspapers used Robins and Dodgers interchangeably, often in the same game summary. No nickname was acknowledged on team uniforms until 1933, when the word Dodgers finally appeared. Prior to that, they had sported either the word "Brooklyn" or a stylized letter "B."

Rivalry with the Giants

The historic and heated rivalry between the Dodgers and the Giants is more than a century old, having begun when both clubs played in New York City (the Dodgers in Brooklyn and the Giants in Manhattan). When both franchises moved to California in 1958, the rivalry was easily transplanted with them, as the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco have long been rivals in economic, cultural, and political arenas throughout the history of the State of California.

Vin Scully

Vin Scully has served as the play-by-play announcer for the Dodgers for 55 years, the longest tenure of any broadcaster with a single club in professional sports history. In 1976, he was selected by Dodgers fans as the Most Memorable Personality (on the field or off) of the team's history in L.A.

Quick facts

:Founded: 1883, as a member of the minor Inter-State League. The team moved up to the American Association in 1884 and transferred to the National League in 1890. :Manager: Grady Little :General Manager: Ned Colletti :Owner: Frank McCourt :Logo design: cursive "Dodgers" superimposed over a red streaming baseball :Uniform: cap is "Dodger blue" with white "LA" (letters overlapped) centered on front of cap; home is "Dodger blue" on white, jersey has cursive "Dodgers" (similar to logo but without baseball) across chest; away is "Dodger blue" on gray, jersey has similar cursive "Los Angeles" across chest; as of 2005, names not printed on back of home or away jerseys

Baseball Hall of Famers

Alston, Drysdale, Koufax, Lasorda and Sutton are the only Hall-of-Famers elected primarily for their service with Los Angeles. Bunning pitched 9 games with Los Angeles in 1969, Marichal 2 games in 1975.

Retired Numbers


- 1 Pee Wee Reese, SS, 1940-58 (played all but the last season in Brooklyn)
- 2 Tommy Lasorda, P, 1955-56 (Brooklyn); Manager, 1976-96 (Los Angeles)
- 4 Duke Snider, OF, 1947-62 (Brooklyn 1947-57, Los Angeles 1958-62, also Los Angeles native)
- 19 Jim Gilliam, 2B-3B, 1953-66 (Brooklyn 1953-57, Los Angeles 1958-66); Coach, 1967-78
- 20 Don Sutton, P, 1966-80 & 1988
- 24 Walter Alston, Manager, 1954-76 (Brooklyn 1954-57, Los Angeles 1958-76)
- 32 Sandy Koufax, P, 1955-66 (Brooklyn 1955-57, Los Angeles 1958-66)
- 39 Roy Campanella, C, 1948-57 (all in Brooklyn, career-ending injury just before move)
- 42 Jackie Robinson, 2B, 1947-56 (all in Brooklyn, although grew up in Los Angeles area)
- 53 Don Drysdale, P, 1956-69 (all but first two seasons in Los Angeles, also Los Angeles area native)

Current roster

Minor league affiliations


- AAA: Las Vegas 51s, Pacific Coast League
- AA: Jacksonville Suns, Southern League
- Advanced A: Vero Beach Dodgers, Florida State League
- A: Columbus Catfish, South Atlantic League
- Rookie: Ogden Raptors, Pioneer League
- Rookie: GCL Dodgers, Gulf Coast League
- Rookie: VSL Dodgers, Venezuelan Summer League

Recommended reading


- Red Barber, Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat
- Robert W. Creamer, Stengel: His Life and Times
- Steve Delsohn, True Blue: The Dramatic History of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Told By the Men Who Lived It
- Carl Erskine and Vin Scully, Tales From the Dodger Dugout: Extra Innings
- Harvey Froemmer, New York City Baseball
- Cliff Gewecke, Day by Day in Dodgers History
- Andrew Goldblatt, The Giants and the Dodgers: Four Cities, Two Teams, One Rivalry
- Peter Golenbock, Bums: An Oral History of the Brooklyn Dodgers
- Doris Kearns Goodwin, Wait Till Next Year: A Memoir
- Frank Graham, The Brooklyn Dodgers: An Informal History
- Donald Honig, The Los Angeles Dodgers: Their First Quarter Century
- Roger Kahn, The Boys of Summer
- Roger Kahn, The Era 1947-1957: When the Yankees, the Giants and the Dodgers Ruled the World
- Mark Langill, The Los Angeles Dodgers
- Tommy Lasorda with David Fisher, The Artful Dodger
- Jane Leavy, Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy
- William McNeil, The Dodgers Encyclopedia
- Tom Meany (editor), The Artful Dodgers
- Andrew Paul Mele, A Brooklyn Dodgers Reader
- John J. Monteleone (editor), Branch Rickey's Little Blue Book
- David Plaut, Chasing October: The Dodgers-Giants Pennant Race of 1962
- Carl E. Prince, Brooklyn's Dodgers: The Bums, The Borough and The Best of Baseball
- Jackie Robinson, I Never Had It Made
- Gene Schoor, The Complete Dodgers Record Book
- Gene Schoor, The Pee Wee Reese Story
- Duke Snider with Bill Gilbert, The Duke of Flatbush
- Michael Shapiro, The Last Good Season: Brooklyn, The Dodgers, and Their Final Pennant Race Together
- Glen Stout, The Dodgers: 120 Years of Dodgers Baseball
- Neil J. Sullivan, The Dodgers Move West
- Jules Tygiel, Baseball's Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy
- John Weaver, Los Angeles: The Enormous Village, 1781-1981

See also


- Freeway Series - Dodgers-Angels interleague rivalry
- Dodger Dog
- Dodgers award winners and league leaders
- Dodgers statistical records and milestone achievements
- Dodgers players of note
- Dodgers broadcasters and media
- Dodgers managers and ownership

External links


- [http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/la/homepage/la_homepage.jsp Los Angeles Dodgers official web site]
- [http://www.walteromalley.com/ Walter O'Malley - The Official Website]
- [http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/LosAngelesDodgers/ The largest Los Angeles Dodgers Group on the web]
- [http://www.dodgerthoughts.com/ Dodger Thoughts]
- [http://www.dodgerplace.com/ Sarah's Dodger Place]
- [http://www.pigsandfishes.org/filks/mikefilk/whendodgerswalked.html When Dodgers Walked] a filk song about the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers' departed glory.
- [http://www.dodgerblues.com Dodger Blues] Fan site frequently critical of the way the team has been run since the ownership of News Corp. Category:Los Angeles sports Category:MLB teams ja:ロサンゼルス・ドジャース

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a Major League Baseball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are in the Eastern Division of the National League. They are most recently known for their ongoing record of 14 consecutive division championships (1991-2005, except for the strike-shortened 1994 season), the most in any professional North American sport, while collecting one World Series championship in that time (in 1995).

Franchise history

The Boston years

The Boston franchise that became known as the Braves took part in some of baseball's most memorable moments, achievements, and pennant races. None were more remarkable than the mid-season last-to-first transformation of the 1914 "Miracle" Braves. After a dismal 4-18 start to the season, the fanbase was turned off, as it looked like the Braves were headed for another bottom-feeder season. Everything that could have gone wrong, did go wrong. After losing both games of a doubleheader to the visiting Brooklyn Dodgers on July 4, Boston's record stood at 26-40, 15 games behind the league-leading New York Giants. The only man left believing was the team's manager, "Miracle Man" George Stallings. Slowly, the team began to turn itself around. It had solidified around the phenomenal double-play tandem of Rabbit Maranville and Johnny Evers (of "Tinker to Evers to Chance" fame), and a strong starting rotation led by Lefty Tyler, Dick Rudolph, and Bill James. When the team rallied to sweep the Cincinnati Reds in a doubleheader on July 19, Stallings declared that the team was playing ball better than any other in the league, and was ready to catch New York. From there came a romp unmatched in baseball history. When the Giants came to Boston for a three-game series on September 7-8, the Braves had won 41 of 53 games since July 4. Boston won two of the three contests to take sole possession of first place. From that point, the Braves won 25 of their final 31 games, while the Giants went 16-16. The Braves went 68-19 after July 4; not only did they finish first, but they ended up 10.5 games ahead of the second place Giants. The team entered the World Series as a heavy underdog to Connie Mack's Philadelphia A's. Nevertheless, the Braves dominated the series in every phase, and swept away the favored Athletics. They were now World Champions. The turnaround was complete. The team was at the top of the league in both pitching, and hitting, and its leader, Evers, won the Chalmers Award, which is equivalent to today's MVP. A miraculous season of these proportions has never again been seen in professional sports. In 1948 the team won the pennant, behind the pitching of Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain who won 39 games between them. The remainder of the rotation was so thin that in September the Boston Post journalist Gerald Hern characterized them by the poem :First we'll use Spahn :then we'll use Sain :Then an off day :followed by rain :Back will come Spahn :followed by Sain :And followed :we hope :by two days of rain. The poem received such a wide audience that the sentiment, usually now paraphrased as "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain", entered the baseball vocabulary. Ironically, in the 1948 season, the Braves actually had a better record in games that Spahn and Sain did not start than in games they did.

The Milwaukee years

Their two pennants notwithstanding, the Braves term in Boston was not a successful time. Attendances steadily dwindled until, on March 13 1953, then-owner Lou Perini announced he was moving the team to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As the 1950s progressed the reinvigorated Braves became increasingly competitive. Sluggers Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron drove the offense (they would hit a combined 863 home runs as Braves), whilst Spahn, Lew Burdette and Bob Buhl anchored the rotation. In 1957, the Braves celebrated their first pennant in nine years led by Aaron's MVP season, leading the National League in home runs and RBIs. The postseason culminated in the Braves' first World Series win in over 40 years, defeating the New York Yankees of Berra, Mantle and Ford in seven games. Burdette, the Series MVP, threw three complete game victories, giving up only two earned runs. In 1958, the Braves again won the National League pennant and jumped out to a three games to one lead in the World Series against New York once more, thanks in part to the strength of Spahn's and Burdette's pitching. But the Yankees stormed back to take the last three games, in large part to World Series MVP Bob Turley's pitching. The 1959 season saw the Braves finish the season in a tie with the Los Angeles Dodgers, but Milwaukee fell in a three-game playoff with two straight losses to Los Angeles. The Dodgers would go on to defeat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. Many residents of Chicago and Milwaukee had been hoping for a Sox-Braves Series, as the cities are only about 75 miles apart, but it was not to be. The next six years were the very definition of up-and-down for the Braves. The 1960 season featured two no-hitters by Burdette and Spahn, and Milwaukee finished seven games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in second place. The 1961 season saw a drop in the standings for the Braves (fourth), despite Warren Spahn recording his 300th victory and pitching another no-hitter that year. Hank Aaron hit 45 home runs in 1962, a Milwaukee career high for him, but that didn't translate in wins for the Braves as they finished fifth. In 1963, Aaron led the league with 44 home runs and Spahn was once again the ace of the staff, going 23-7. However, none of the other Braves produced at that level, and the team finished in the lower half of the league, or the "second division", for the first time in its short history in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Braves have the distinction of being the only Major League club to never suffer a losing season.

The Atlanta years

By the early 1960s, a new group of owners (based out of Chicago) sought relocation to a larger television market. Keen to attract them, the City of Atlanta constructed a new ballpark, Atlanta Stadium, officially opened in 1965. The Braves announced their intention to move to Atlanta for the 1965 season, but a lawsuit filed in Wisconsin kept the Braves in Milwaukee for one final year. In 1966, the Braves completed the move to Atlanta. A .500 baseball team in the first few years (85-77, 77-85 and 81-81) respectively, they won the 1969 NL West pennant, before being swept by the "Miracle Mets" in the NLCS. They would not win it again until 1982, under Joe Torre. In the meantime, fans had to be satisfied with the achievements of Hank Aaron. In the relatively hitter friendly confines of Atlanta Stadium ("The Launching Pad"), he actually increased his offensive production, and by the end of the 1973 season had hit 713 home runs, one short of Babe Ruth's record. Throughout the winter he received racially motivated death threats, but stood up well under the pressure. The next season, it was only a matter of time before he set a new record. On April 4 he hit #714 in Cincinnati, and on April 8, in front of his home fans, he finally beat Ruth's mark. In 1976 the team was purchased by media magnate Ted Turner, owner of superstation WTBS. It was then that Atlanta Stadium was re-named Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Turner quickly gained a reputation as a quirky, hands-on baseball owner. On May 11, 1977, Turner appointed himself manager, but was ordered to relinquish that position after one game (the Braves lost 2-1 to the Pirates to bring their losing streak to 17 games). After three straight losing seasons, Bobby Cox was hired for his first stint as manager of the franchise for the 1978 season. Cox promoted a 22-year-old slugger named Dale Murphy into the starting lineup. Murphy hit 77 home runs over the next three seasons, but struggled on defense, positioned at either catcher or first base while being unable to adeptly play either. However, in 1980, Murphy was moved to center field and demonstrated excellent range and throwing ability, while the Braves earned their first winning season since 1974. Cox was fired after the 1981 season and replaced with Joe Torre, under whose leadership the Braves attained their first divisional title since 1969. Strong performances from Bob Horner, Chris Chambliss, pitcher Phil Niekro, and short relief pitcher Gene Garber helped the Braves, but no Brave was more acclaimed than Murphy, who won both a Most Valuable Player and a Gold Glove award. Murphy also won a Most Valuable Player award the following season, but the Braves began a period of decline that defined the team throughout the 1980s. Murphy, excelling in defense, hitting, and running, was consistently recognized as one of the league's best players, but the Braves averaged only 65 wins per season between 1985-1990. The 1986 season saw the return of Bobby Cox to the Braves organization as general manager. Cox was promoted to manager in the middle of the 1990 season, replacing Russ Nixon. Not only was this season a losing effort, the Braves traded Dale Murphy to the Philadelphia Phillies after it was clear he was becoming a less dominant player. However, pitching coach Leo Mazzone began training young pitchers Tom Glavine, Steve Avery, and John Smoltz. Perhaps the Braves' most important move, however, was not on the field, but in the front office. Immediately after the season, John Schuerholz was hired as general manager. The following season, Glavine, Avery, and Smoltz would be recognized as the best young pitchers in the league, winning 52 games between them. Meanwhile, behind position players Dave Justice, Ron Gant and unexpected league Most Valuable Player and batting-average leader Terry Pendleton, the Braves overcame a slow start to go 47-22 over the last three months of the season and win 8 of their last 9, edging the Los Angeles Dodgers by one game in one of baseball history's more memorable playoff races. They defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in a tightly contested seven-game NLCS only to lose the World Series, also in seven games, to the Minnesota Twins. Despite the loss, the Braves' success would continue. In the 1992 season, the Braves would reach the NLCS again and defeat, once again, in seven games, the Pirates, only to lose in the World Series to a dominating Toronto Blue Jays team. In 1993, the Braves signed Cy Young Award winning pitcher Greg Maddux, leading many baseball insiders to declare the pitching staff the best of all-time. The Braves would win a World Series in 1995, defeating the Cleveland Indians in six games. With this World Series victory, the Braves became the first team in Major League Baseball to win world championships in three different cities. With their strong pitching being a constant, the Braves would also appear in the 1996 and 1999 World Series, and have not failed to win a division title since 1990 as of this writing. Pitching is not the only constant in the Braves organization. At present, Cox is still the Braves' manager, and Schuerholz remains the team's GM, though Mazzone moved on to become the pitching coach of the Baltimore Orioles shortly after the 2005 season. Pendleton did not finish his playing career in Atlanta, but has returned to the Braves system as the hitting coach. During the Braves' rise to prominence in the early 1990s, their long-standing ethnic nickname came under much closer scrutiny. The team was especially criticized for selling plastic and foam tomahawks, encouraging the so-called "tomahawk chop" and the accompanying war cry emitted by the fans. Ironically, many of those tomahawks were made by Cherokee manufacturers in North Carolina. Their response to the criticism was the pragmatic answer, "As long as they keep buying them, we'll keep making them." In 2001, Atlanta won the National League East division, swept the NLDS against the Houston Astros, then lost to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS. In 2002, 2003 and 2004, the Braves won their division again, but lost in the NLDS in all three years 3 games to 2 to the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, and Houston Astros, respectively. In 2005, the Braves won their 14th consecutive division title. This pennant marked the first time any MLB team made the postseason with more than 4 rookies who each had more than 100 ABs. However, they lost the National League Division series to the Astros in 4 games with the final game being the longest game in playoffs history at 18 innings and 5 hours 50 minutes (it ended with a walf-off homerun by Chris Burke).

Quick facts

:Founded: 1871 in Boston, Massachusetts as the Boston Red Stockings of the National Association. The club became a charter member of the National League in 1876 and has remained in the league without a break since then. The Braves are the oldest continuously operating sports franchise in North American sports. Arguably, they can trace their ancestry to the original Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869-1870, baseball's first openly professional team. When the N.A. formed, Red Stockings founder Harry Wright and the best players from that team re-formed in Boston and took the nickname with them. :Formerly known as: Boston Braves (1912-1952), and Milwaukee Braves (1953-1965). Prior to 1912, the Boston team had several unofficial nicknames: "Red Stockings" in the 1870s and 1880s; "Beaneaters" in the 1890s and early 1900s; "Doves" (when the Dovey family owned the franchise, 1907-1910) and "Rustlers" (when William Russell owned the franchise, 1911). Following the 1935 season, after enduring bankruptcy and a series of poor seasons, new owner Bob Quinn asked a team of sportswriters to choose a new nickname, to change the team's luck. The sportswriters chose "Bees", which was adopted in 1936, though it never really caught on, with Quinn even refusing to use it, although their home uniforms in this interval were changed to feature a large block letter B ("bee"). The team dropped the nickname in 1941, using only the official name "Braves" from 1941 on. :Ownership: Time Warner :Uniform colors: Navy blue, Garnet red, and White :Logo design: The script word "Braves" above a tomahawk :Playoff appearances (20): 1914, 1948, 1957, 1958, 1969, 1982, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 :National Association pennants won (4): 1872, 1873, 1874, 1875 :Official television stations: TBS, Turner South, Fox Sports South :Official radio station: WKLS-FM, WGST-AM (flagship)

Baseball Hall of Famers

Retired Numbers


- 3 Dale Murphy, OF, Atlanta, 1976-90
- 21 Warren Spahn, P, Boston 1942-52, Milwaukee 1953-64
- 35 Phil Niekro, P, Milwaukee 1964-65, Atlanta 1966-83 & 1 game in 1987
- 41 Eddie Mathews, 3B, Boston 1952, Milwaukee 1953-65, Atlanta 1966; MGR 1972-74
- 44 Hank Aaron, OF, Milwaukee 1954-65, Atlanta 1966-74 Eddie Mathews is the only player to have played for the Braves in all three cities.

Current roster

Minor league affiliates


- AAA: Richmond Braves, International League
- AA: Mississippi Braves, Southern League
- Advanced A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Carolina League
- A: Rome Braves, South Atlantic League
- Rookie: Danville Braves, Appalachian League
- Rookie: GCL Braves, Gulf Coast League

See also


- Braves award winners and league leaders
- Braves statistical records and milestone achievements
- Braves players of note
- Braves broadcasters and media
- Braves managers and ownership

External links


- [http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/atl/homepage/atl_homepage.jsp Atlanta Braves official web site]
- [http://www.sportznow.com/teams/atl.htm Atlanta Braves News, Stats, and Roster]
- [http://www.bravesnewsworld.com Atlanta Braves News World unofficial blog] Category:Atlanta sports Category:MLB teams Category:Time Warner subsidiaries ja:アトランタ・ブレーブス

Games played

In baseball statistics, games played (denoted by G) indicates the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity). It does not matter in how much of the game the player was active. If player A plays the whole game until there are two out in the bottom of the ninth inning, and then is replaced by player B as a pinch-runner for the final third of an inning, then A and B are each credited with one game played. Players are credited with a game played if they are listed on the lineup card or if they are announced as a substitute, even if they are subsequently replaced before taking part in the game. See also: Baseball statistics Category:Baseball statistics

Home run

In baseball, a home run is a base hit in which the batter is able to circle all the bases, ending at home plate and scoring a run himself (along with a run for each runner who was already on base), with no errors on the play that results in the batter achieving extra bases. Home runs are among the most popular aspects of baseball, and the biggest (and best-paid) stars are often the players who hit the most of them. It was once said that "Singles hitters drive Fords, and home run hitters drive Cadillacs." There is also a legend that Babe Ruth was asked by a reporter about the fact that his salary was higher than that of President Herbert Hoover. Ruth's response was, "How many home runs did he hit last year?" (It is worth noting that Ruth had been an official endorser of Al Smith for President in 1928, according to Marshall Smelser's The Life That Ruth Built).

Types of home runs

In addition to the general title "home run," certain plays in baseball have been given names to denote that they are a special type of home run. These home runs are considered special generally because of their rarity, but also because of the kind of excitement they can cause.

Inside-the-park home run

In almost all cases nowadays, a home run involves hitting the ball over the outfield fence in fair territory. Very rarely, a batter can hit the ball in play and circle all the bases before the fielders can throw him out; this is called an inside-the-park home run, and typically requires that the batter be a quick runner and that the fielder misplay the ball in some way; or that the ball is made difficult to play by caroming in unexpected ways or by becoming difficult for a fielder to reach due to structural variances and peculiarities of different ballparks. If the misplay is labeled an error by the official scorer, however, the batter is not credited with a home run.

Grand slam

A grand slam home run occurs when the bases are "loaded" (that is, there are base runners standing at first, second, and third base) and the batter hits a home run. An inside-the-park grand slam is the combination of the two, but it requires such a confluence of circumstances that it is very rare. The last inside-the-park grand slam was hit by Randy Winn of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on October 3, 1999.

Walkoff Home run

A walkoff home run is a home run that immediately ends the game, so named because after the run is scored, the players can "walk off" the field. In order for this to happen, a member of the home team must hit a home run in the bottom of the last inning to either come from behind or break a tie.

History of the home run

In the early days of the game, when the ball was less lively and the ballparks generally had very large outfields, most home runs were of the inside-the-park variety. The "home" run was literally descriptive. Home runs over the fence were rare, and only in ballparks where a fence was fairly close. The home run's place in baseball changed dramatically when the lively ball was introduced after World War I. Batters such as Babe Ruth and Rogers Hornsby took full advantage of it during the 1920s, especially as the game's popularity boomed and more outfield seating was built, shrinking the size of the outfield. The teams with the sluggers, especially the New York Yankees, became the championship teams, and other teams had to change their focus from the "inside game" to the "power game" in order to keep up. Prior to 1931, a ball that bounced over an outfield fence during a Major League Baseball game was considered a home run. The rule was changed to require the ball to clear the fence on the fly, and balls which reached the seats on a bounce became ground-rule doubles in most parks. Also, until around that time, the ball had to not only go over the fence fair, but to land in the bleachers fair. The rule stipulated "when last seen" by the umpires. Photos from that era in ballparks such as the Polo Grounds show ropes strung from the foul poles to the back of the bleachers, in a straight line with the foul line, as a visual aid for the umpires. Babe Ruth's 60th home run in 1927 was somewhat controversial, because it landed just fair in the stands down the right field line. Further, the rules once stipulated that an over-the-fence home run in a sudden-victory situation would only count for as many bases as was necessary to "force" the winning run home. For example, if a team trailed by 2 runs with the bases loaded, and the batter hit a fair ball over the fence, it only counted as a triple, because the runner immediately ahead of him had technically already scored the game-winning run. That rule was changed in the 1920s as home runs became increasingly frequent and popular. Babe Ruth's career total would have been 1 higher had that rule not been in effect in the early part of his career. The all-time career record for home runs in a professional career is held by Japan's Sadaharu Oh with 868. In Major League Baseball, the record is 755, held by Hank Aaron since 1974. Only three other Major League Baseball players have hit as many as 600: Babe Ruth (714), Barry Bonds (708 as of September of 2005), and Willie Mays (660). The single season record is 73, set by Barry Bonds in 2001. Negro League slugger Josh Gibson may have hit even more home runs than Oh, but official records from the Negro Leagues are sketchy at best and in some cases nonexistent. Other legendary home run hitters include Ted Williams, Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Mickey Mantle (who hit what is considered the longest home run ever at an estimated distance of 643 feet on September 10, 1960), Reggie Jackson, Josh Gibson, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews and all the members of Major League Baseball's 500 home run club.

Home run slang

Slang terms for home runs include: big-fly, blast, bomb, circuit clout, dinger, four-bagger, homer, jack, round-tripper, shot, moonshot, tape-measure shot, swat, tater, wallop and gopherball (because the batter "goes for" it). The act of hitting a home run can be called going yard. A game with many home runs in it can be referred to as a slugfest. A home run that ends the game is often called a walk-off homer, because everyone walks off the field afterward. A player who hits a home run is said to have "dialed 9", from the practice of having to dial 9 from a hotel room telephone to get "long distance". Player nicknames that describe home run-hitting prowess include:
- The Sultan of Swat, the Colossus of Clout, the Wali of Wallop (Babe Ruth)
- The Crown Prince of Swat (Lou Gehrig, playing on Ruth's nickname)
- The Rajah of Swat (Rogers Hornsby, likewise)
- Hammerin' Hank. The Hammer, The New Sultan of Swat (Hank Aaron)
- Joltin' Joe (Joe DiMaggio)
- The Beast (Jimmie Foxx)
- Hondo (Frank Howard)
- The Killer (Harmon Killebrew)
- Kong (Dave Kingman)
- Juan Gone (Juan Gonzalez)
- Downtown (Ollie Brown)
- Frank "Home Run" Baker
- Two Man Swat Team Manny Ramírez and David Ortiz
- Big Mac (Mark McGwire)
- Big Papi (David Ortiz)
- The Bash Brothers (Mark McGwire and José Canseco)
- Slammin' Sammy (Sammy Sosa)
- Murderers' Row (the entire New York Yankees lineup for 1927)
- The "Big Hurt" (Frank Thomas)

Progression of the single-season home run record

: 5, by George Hall, Philadelphia Athletics (NL), 1876 (70 game schedule) : 9, by Charley Jones, Boston Red Stockings (NL), 1879 (84 game schedule) :14, by Harry Stovey, Philadelphia Athletics (AA), 1883 (98 game schedule) :27, by Ned Williamson, Chicago White Stockings (NL), 1884 (112 game schedule) ::Williamson benefitted from a very short outfield fence in his home ballpark, Lakeshore Park. During the park's previous years, balls hit over the fence in that park were ground-rule doubles, but in 1884 (its final year) they were credited as home runs. Williamson led the pace, but several of his Chicago teammates also topped the 20 HR mark that season. Of Williamson's total, 25 were hit at home, and only 2 on the road. Noticing the fluke involved, fans of the early 20th century were more impressed with Buck Freeman's total of 25 home runs in 1899 or Gavvy Cravath's 1915 total of 24. :29, by Babe Ruth, Boston Red Sox (AL), 1919 (140 game schedule) ::Even with that relatively small quantity, Ruth outslugged 10 of the other 15 major league clubs. The second-highest individual total