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The Baseball Portal Evolving from older bat-and-ball games, an early form of baseball was being played in England by the mid-eighteenth century. This game and the related rounders were brought by British and Irish immigrants to North America, where the modern version of baseball developed. By the late nineteenth century, baseball was widely recognized as the national sport of the United States. Baseball on the professional, amateur, and youth levels is now popular in North America, parts of Central and South America and the Caribbean, and parts of East Asia. The game is sometimes referred to as hardball, in contrast to the derivative game of softball. In North America, professional Major League Baseball (MLB) teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL). Each league has three divisions: East, West, and Central. Every year, the champion of Major League Baseball is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series. Five teams make the playoffs from each league: the three regular season division winners, plus two wild card teams. Baseball is the leading team sport in both Japan and Cuba, and the top level of play is similarly split between two leagues: Japan's Central League and Pacific League; Cuba's West League and East League. In the National and Central leagues, the pitcher is required to bat, per the traditional rules. In the American, Pacific, and both Cuban leagues, there is a tenth player, a designated hitter, who bats for the pitcher. Each top-level team has a farm system of one or more minor league teams. These teams allow younger players to develop as they gain on-field experience against opponents with similar levels of skill. (more...) Selected article"Homer at the Bat" is the seventeenth episode of The Simpsons' third season, which originally aired February 20, 1992. The episode follows the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant softball team, led by Homer, having a winning season and making the championship game. Mr. Burns makes a large bet that the team will win and brings in nine ringers from the "big leagues" to ensure his success. It was written by John Swartzwelder, who is a big baseball fan, and directed by Jim Reardon. Roger Clemens, Wade Boggs, Ken Griffey, Jr., Steve Sax, Ozzie Smith, José Canseco, Don Mattingly, Darryl Strawberry and Mike Scioscia all guest starred as themselves, playing ringers hired by Mr. Burns. Terry Cashman also sang a song over the end credits. The guest stars were recorded over several months, with differing degrees of cooperation. The episode is often named among the show's best, and was the first to beat The Cosby Show in the ratings on its original airing. Selected picture Mariano Rivera (born November 29, 1969) is a Panamanian professional baseball player who has spent his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees. Nicknamed "Mo", the right-handed Rivera has served as a relief pitcher for most of his career. His presence in the late innings of games to record the final outs has played an instrumental role in the Yankees' success, particularly the team's late 1990s dynasty, which won four World Series championships. Selected biographyMorris "Moe" Berg (March 2, 1902 – May 29, 1972) was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball who later served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. Although he played 15 seasons in the major leagues, almost entirely for four American League teams, Berg was never more than an average player, usually used as a backup catcher, and was better known for being "the brainiest guy in baseball" than for anything he accomplished in the game. Casey Stengel once described Berg as "the strangest man ever to play baseball". A graduate of Princeton University and Columbia Law School, Berg spoke several languages and regularly read 10 newspapers a day. His reputation was fueled by his successful appearances as a contestant on the radio quiz show Information, Please! in which he answered questions about the derivation of words and names from Greek and Latin, historical events in Europe and the Far East, and ongoing international conferences. As a spy working for the government of the United States, Berg traveled to Yugoslavia to gather intelligence on resistance groups the U.S. government was considering supporting. He was then sent on a mission to Italy, where he interviewed various physicists concerning the German nuclear program. After the war, Berg was occasionally employed by the OSS's successor, the Central Intelligence Agency, but, by the mid-1950s, was unemployed. He spent the last two decades of his life without work, living with various siblings. QuotesSelected list The award has been won by seven different pitchers over thirteen years. The winner is chosen based on rankings, which are based on wins, strikeouts and earned run average. The most recent recipient is Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Randy Johnson received the first four awards from 1999 through 2002. He attended the awards ceremony due to his respect for Spahn, who called him personally to ask him to attend. CC Sabathia (2007–2009) and Johan Santana (2004, 2006) are also multiple Warren Spahn Award winners. Johnson (1999–2002), Santana (2004, 2006), Sabathia (2007) and Kershaw (2011) also won the Cy Young Award, given annually to the best pitcher in each league, in years they won the Warren Spahn Award. There has been one tie-break in the Warren Spahn Award's history, which occurred when Sabathia defeated the Houston Astros' Wandy Rodriguez to earn his third consecutive award in 2009. The tie-break was decided based on winning percentage. Did you know ...
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