Portal:Baseball/Selected article/Archive/1

July 5, 2006 - February 21, 2007

Baseball was first contested at the Summer Olympic Games in 1912, at the Games of the V Olympiad, logo pictured, held in Stockholm, Sweden, and appeared as a demonstration sport again at the XI (hosted in 1936 by Berlin, Germany), XV (hosted in 1952 by Helsinki, Finland, and played as pesäpallo), XVI (hosted in 1956 by Melbourne, Australia), XVIII (hosted in 1964 by Tokyo, Japan), XXIII (hosted in 1984 by Los Angeles, California), and XXIV Olympiads (hosted in 1988 by Seoul, South Korea), during the latter two of which teams representing more than two nations participated, before the International Olympic Committee conferred medal status onto the sport, under the auspices of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), at its 1986 Lausanne, Switzerland, meeting, to be effective with the opening of the Games of the XXV Olympiad, held in Barcelona, Spain, in 1992.

Since its assumption of medal status, Olympic baseball has been played under the Official Baseball Rules, the guidelines under which American Major League Baseball is played, as modified by the IBAF, although the use of aluminum baseball bats was proscribed after the Games of the XXVI Olympiad (held in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1996) concluded and although a mercy rule—to be invoked should one team trail by 10 or more runs after seven innings are played—was employed; 20-player rosters comprising exclusively amateur players were featured through the Games of the XXVII Olympiad (contested in Sydney, Australia, in 2000), during and after which rosters of 24 players, who may be professionals, were permitted.

Eight teams compete in any single Olympic tournament, of which one necessarily represents the host nation and of which, after continental tournaments, two represent the Americas (North and South America and Latin America and the Caribbean, one represents Europe, and one represents Asia; the remaining positions are awarded to the teams finishing in the top three places from amongst the third- and fourth-place North and South American teams, the second- and third-place European teams, the second- and third-place Asian teams, and the first-place teams from each of Africa and Oceania. The Olympic tournament is conducted as a single round-robin tournament, the top four finishers of which advance to a seeded single-elimination tournament played to determine the gold, silver, and bronze medallists.

Three teams—those representing Cuba, flag pictured, Italy, Japan—have qualified for each of the four Olympics iterations since baseball attained medal-sport status, and three more—those representing Australia, the Netherlands, and the United States—have appeared in three of the four such Olympics. Cuba lead all nations, having won three gold and one silver medal, whilst the United States has won the remaining gold and one bronze and Japan has won one silver and two bronze medals; Australia, Chinese Taipei, and the Republic of Korea have each won one medal.

July 4 to July 21, 2006

The hit-and-run is an offensive baseball strategy in which a manager releases one or more baserunners to attempt to advance to a succeeding base prior to a batter's contacting a pitch, usually contemporaneous to a pitcher's beginning his windup, or, at latest, to his releasing the ball, in order that, on the occasion of a batted ball—one struck firmly on the ground or one hit into the air—the baserunners might successfully reach base.

The strategy is often employed by teams lacking in power hitters who must manufacture runs, and is most successful when executed by a contact hitter, such as Ichiro Suzuki, pictured, of the Seattle Mariners, namely a player who is unlikely to commit a swinging strike or to strike out or, in the event that he should successfully strike the ball, unlikely to ground out to an infielder, permitting the defending team to effect a double play; a team's featuring fast baserunners is also useful, and, in any event, a batter must be willing to contact a ball at which he would otherwise be unlikely to swing.

A batter will often attempt to hit a ball into right field, in order that an outfielder attempting to assist in putting out a baserunner proceeding from first or second base will be forced to complete a throw of great distance, or into the middle of the field, which area is likely to be open, inasmuch as either the second baseman or shortstop will proceed to second base when he observes an advancing runner. Where a runner times his advance properly, he is expected to advance from first to third base should the batter strike a single and to home plate should a double be struck.

If a ground ball to a middle infielder is hit, it is probable that either the batter or the runner advancing from first base will reach base successfully, such that at most one out should be registered, but if a batter fails to make contact, the baserunner is left to essay to steal a base, although, having not undertaken to steal a base, and thus not having awaited a scenario under which a stolen base attempt would be likely to succeed, he may well be caught stealing. Should the batter fly out to an infielder or shallow outfielder, it is probable that the fielding team will register a double play, or, in the event there should be two baserunners, a triple play; indeed, most of the 13 unassisted triple plays to have occurred in Major League Baseball have resulted from hit-and-run situations.

A team may elect to employ a bunt in conjunction with a hit-and-run, either as a bunt-and-run in which a batter simply substitutes a full swing for a bunt, or as part of a sacrifice squeeze play, although a bunt-and-run, especially where executed as a suicide squeeze, is risky, and its use is rare.

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May 27 to July 4, 2006

William "Bill" Louis Veeck, Jr. (IPA: [vɛk]; February 9, 1914 – January 2, 1986), also known as "Sport Shirt Bill", was a native of Chicago, Illinois, and franchise owner and promoter in Major League Baseball. He was best known for his flamboyant publicity stunts, and the innovations he brought to the league during his ownership of the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox. Veeck was the last owner to purchase a baseball franchise without an independent fortune, and is responsible for many significant innovations and contributions to baseball.

While Veeck was growing up in Hinsdale, Illinois, his father, William Veeck, Sr., became president of the Chicago Cubs. Growing up in the business, Bill Veeck worked as a vendor, ticket seller and junior groundskeeper. In 1933, when his father died, Veeck left Kenyon College, and eventually became club treasurer for the Cubs. In 1937, Veeck planted the ivy that covers the outfield wall at Wrigley Field. He married Eleanor Raymond in 1935.

In 1941 Veeck left Chicago and purchased the American Association Milwaukee Brewers, in a partnership with former Cubs star and manager Charlie Grimm. After winning three pennants in five years, Veeck sold his Milwaukee franchise in 1945 for a $275,000 profit.

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March 4 to May 27, 2006

Ernie Lombardi was a Major League Baseball catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Cincinnati Reds, the Boston Braves and the New York Giants during a Hall of Fame career that spanned 17 years, from 1931 to 1947. His nickname was "Schnozz".

Ernie Lombardi played his rookie season for the-then Brooklyn Dodgers in 1931, but was traded to the Cincinnati Reds shortly before the start of spring training for the 1932 season. Lombardi flourished his first year in Cincinnati, batting .303 with 11 home runs and 68 runs-batted-in. However, he became a national star in 1938 when he hit a league-leading .342 with 19 home runs, drove in 95 runs, and won the National League's MVP award. Ernie Lombardi became one of the Reds' most productive and popular players of all time, and was a key player on the 1940 World Series championship team, where he hit .333. He also has the distinction of catching both of Reds left-hander Johnny Vander Meer's back-to-back no-hitters, accomplished on June 11 and June 15, 1938. To date, Vander Meer's feat has not been matched.

January 17 to March 4, 2006

James Raleigh "Biz" Mackey (July 27, 1897 - September 22, 1965) was an African American catcher and manager in Negro league baseball who came to be regarded as black baseball's premier catcher in the late 1920s and early 1930s. His superior defense and outstanding throwing arm were complemented by batting skill which placed him among the Negro Leagues' all-time leaders in total bases, RBIs and slugging percentage while hitting .322 for his career. He played for the Indianapolis ABC's (1920-22), New York Lincoln Giants (1920), Hilldale Daisies (1923-31), Philadelphia Royal Giants (1925), Philadelphia Stars (1933-35), Washington and Baltimore Elite Giants (1936-39), and Newark Dodgers/Eagles (1935, 1939-41, 1945-47, 1950).

Born in Eagle Pass, Texas, Mackey began playing baseball with his brothers Ray and Ernest on the Luling Oilers, a Prairie League team, in 1916 in his hometown of Luling, and joined the professional San Antonio Black Aces two years later. When the team folded in 1920, his contract was sold to the Indianapolis ABC's in time for the Negro National League's first season. After three years under manager C.I. Taylor, in which he hit .315, .317 and .344, he was picked up by Hilldale when the Eastern Colored League was organized in 1923. In his first season with Hilldale, he batted .423, winning the ECL batting title and pacing the team to the pennant, and followed with eight consecutive seasons batting .308 or better. In 1924 he finished third in the batting race as Hilldale repeated as champions, but lost to the Kansas City Monarchs 5 games to 4 in the first Negro League World Series, with Mackey playing third base.

October 21, 2005 to January 17, 2006

Anthony Christopher Kubek (born October 12, 1936 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a retired American baseball player and television broadcaster. A left-handed batter, Kubek signed his first professional contract with the New York Yankees and rose rapidly through the Yanks' farm system. He was 20 years of age when he played his first game in Major League Baseball in 1957, and - except for one year (1962) spent largely in the U.S. military - remained with the Yankees until his retirement due to a back injury at the close of the 1965 season.

Kubek played 1,092 games, 882 of them at shortstop (although he also was an outfielder and utility infielder in his early career), compiling a lifetime batting average of .266 with 57 home runs. During his nine years with the Yankees, he played on seven American League pennant winners (1957-58, 1960-64) and three world champions (1958, 1961-1962). In 1957, Kubek won the American League Rookie of the Year Award. In Game 3 of the 1957 World Series, he had one of the best World Series games a rookie has ever had. In his prime he was a dangerous hitter and formed a top double play combination with second baseman Bobby Richardson. In Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, Kubek was victimized by a bad-hop ground ball that struck him in the throat.

August 19 to October 21, 2005

Sanford "Sandy" Koufax (born Sanford Braun on December 30, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York) is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966.

He is best known for his string of six amazing seasons from 1961 to 1966 before arthritis ended his career at the age of 31. A notoriously difficult pitcher to hit against, he was the first major leaguer to pitch more than three no-hitters, and the first to allow fewer than 7 hits per 9 innings pitched over his career. Among National League pitchers with at least 2000 innings pitched who have debuted since 1913, he owns both the highest career winning percentage (.655) and the lowest career earned run average (2.76); his 2396 career strikeouts ranked 7th in major league history upon his retirement, and trailed only Warren Spahn's total of 2583 among left-handers. Retiring virtually at the peak of his career, Koufax later became – at age 36 – the youngest person ever elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

May 27 to August 19, 2005

The pitcher is the player who throws the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play. In most cases, the object of a pitch is to deliver the ball to the catcher without allowing the batter to hit it. Nearly all action during a game is centered around the pitcher for the defensive team. A pitcher's particular style and skill heavily influences the dynamics of the game and will often determine the victor. The type and sequence of pitches chosen depends upon the particular situation in a game. Because pitchers and catchers must coordinate each pitch, a system of hand signals are used by the catcher to communicate choices to the pitcher, to which the pitcher either vetoes or accepts. Baseball is one of few games in which the defense has control of the ball, with cricket being another notable example.