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2011 Tampa Bay Rays Season
The Tampa Bay Rays 2011 season was the team's 14th season in Major League Baseball. Despite starting the season 0–6 and trailing the Boston Red Sox by 9 games as late in the season as September 1, the Rays captured the AL Wild Card and made consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in franchise history. However, they lost to the Texas Rangers in four games in the Division Series, the second year in a row they lost to Texas in the first round of the playoffs. Offseason The Rays declined the options of reliever Dan Wheeler and infielder Willy Aybar, and added Elliot Johnson to the 40-man roster on November 3, 2010. Becoming a free agent, Wheeler stated that he was open to re-sign with the Rays, saying the two sides talked about "keeping the lines of communication open." Aybar is eligible for arbitration, and therefore remains under the team's control. Seven of the Rays' nine free agents were offered arbitration on November 23, 2010. Those players were left fielder Car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American League East
The American League East is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. MLB consists of an East, Central, and West division for each of its two 15-team leagues, the American League (AL) and National League (NL). This division was created before the start of the season along with the American League West division. Before that time, each league consisted of 10 teams without any divisions. Four of the division's five teams are located in the Eastern United States, with the other team, the Toronto Blue Jays, in Eastern Canada. It is currently the only division that contains a non-American team. At the end of the MLB season, the team with the best record in the division earns one of the AL's six playoff spots. The most recent team to win this division was the New York Yankees in . History Baseball writers have long posited that the American League East is the toughest division in MLB; during its 50-year existence, an AL East team has gone on to play in the World Series 27 times, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2011 American League Division Series
The 2011 American League Division Series (abbreviated ALDS) were two best-of-five playoffs comprising the opening round of the Major League Baseball postseason, played to determine the participating teams in the 2011 American League Championship Series. Three divisional winners and a fourth team—a wild card—played in two series. TBS televised all games but the Game 2's of both series in the United States. The Game 2's of both series were aired on TNT due to schedule conflicts with other ALDS games or the NLDS. The regular season finished on September 28, with the ALDS beginning September 30. Game 5 of the Yankees–Tigers series was played on October 6. Under MLB's playoff format, no two teams from the same division were matched up in the Division Series, regardless of whether their records would normally indicate such a matchup. Home field advantage went to the team with the better regular-season record with the exception of the wild card team, whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dioner Navarro
Dioner Favian Navarro Vivas (born February 9, 1984) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays. With the Rays, Navarro was an All-Star in 2008. Professional career New York Yankees On August 21, 2000, Navarro was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent. He made his professional debut in 2001 with the GCL Yankees, batting .280 in 43 games. In 2002, Navarro split the season between the Single-A Greensboro Bats and the High-A Tampa Yankees, accumulating a .239/.327/.361 slash line with 8 home runs and 36 RBI. In 2003, with the Double-A Trenton Thunder, he hit .341 in 58 games and was selected as the Yankees minor league player of the year and was the top-ranked prospect in the Yankees organization heading into 2004. He was assigned to the Double-A Trenton Thunder to begin the 2004 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dan Johnson (baseball)
Daniel Ryan Johnson (born August 10, 1979) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six teams, over ten seasons, as well as one season in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), but never held a Major League starting job for an entire season. He is perhaps best known for hitting a dramatic two-out, two-strike home run for the Tampa Bay Rays in the bottom of the ninth inning of the last game of the 2011 season, also known as Wild Card Wednesday. That home run tied the game, which the Rays eventually won, sending them to the playoffs. His clutch hitting for the Rays, along with his red hair and beard, earned him the nickname "The Great Pumpkin". Also within his extensive Minor League Baseball career that began in 2001, Johnson has won a Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in two different Triple-A leagues. He won the Pacific Coast League MVP in 2004 and the International League MVP in 2010. In 2016, Johnson signed with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carlos Peña
Carlos Felipe Peña (born May 17, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, and Kansas City Royals. Although Peña was born in Santo Domingo and his family is from San Francisco de Macorís, he spent a significant portion of his childhood in the United States. Early life Peña is the second-oldest of five children born to Felipe and Juana Marisela Peña. The family moved to the United States from the Dominican Republic when Peña was 12, initially living with one of his uncles. Peña graduated from Haverhill High School in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in 1995. He initially went to Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, but returned home after one year and attended Northeastern University in Boston; there, Peña studied electrical engineering. As a collegiate player, he competed in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joaquín Benoit
Joaquín Antonio Benoit Peña (born July 26, 1977) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Washington Nationals. Professional career Texas Rangers Signing with the Rangers at the age of 18, Benoit was with the Rangers' organization until 2009. Except rehab assignments after stints on the disabled list, he was with the Major League club full-time since midway through the 2003 season. Benoit's seven years with the Texas Rangers made him the second-longest tenured member of the team after Michael Young. Originally a starter, Benoit was moved to the bullpen part-time in the 2003 season. Since then, he had served in various relief roles, making spot starts as necessary. Benoit holds the Major League record for having recorded the longest save, seven innings, since it be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chad Qualls
Chad Michael Qualls (born August 17, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, Miami Marlins, and Colorado Rockies. Baseball career Amateur career Qualls attended Narbonne High School in Harbor City, California, Los Angeles Harbor College (LAHC) in Wilmington, California, and the University of Nevada-Reno in Reno, Nevada. After pitching for LAHC, he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 52nd round of the 1997 MLB Draft, but he did not sign. He transferred to the University of Nevada, where he played college baseball for the Nevada Wolf Pack's baseball team, competing in the Big West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. He was named to the Big West Conference's second team in 1999. In 2000, Qualls anchored the Wolf Pack's starting rotation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Randy Choate
Randol Doyle Choate (born September 5, 1975) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. The New York Yankees selected him in the 1997 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft from Florida State University. Choate made his MLB debut for the Yankees in 2000, and also pitched for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, Florida/Miami Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and St. Louis Cardinals. He won the 2000 World Series with the Yankees, beating the New York Mets. As a left-handed relief pitcher, Choate appeared mainly in matchups against left-handed hitters. His pitching style featured a sidearm-delivery style that hid the ball effectively from left-handed hitters, while only marginally so against right-handed hitters. His repertoire featured almost exclusively a sinking fastball and slider combination. Early life and amateur career Choate was born in San Antonio, Texas. He attended Churchill High School in San Antonio, and was a letterman in baseball. He then attended Flor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rafael Soriano
Rafael Soriano (born December 19, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, and Chicago Cubs. Soriano was an All-Star in 2010. That year, he also led the American League (AL) in saves, and was named the winner of the Delivery Man of the Month Award for May, July, and August, and the AL Rolaids Relief Man Award in the postseason. Early life Soriano was born in San José de los Llanos, Dominican Republic. He lived in Boca Chica. By age 8, he played in weekly baseball tournaments in Santo Domingo. However, his mother, Magali, who worked as a housekeeper, often could not afford the twenty dominican pesos it cost for him to make the trip. Soriano would sometimes perform chores for the team's manager, who would then pay for the trip. Soriano was not well connected to Dominican trainers, who fed information to the most prominen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grant Balfour
Grant Robert Balfour (born 30 December 1977) is an Australian former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Devil Rays / Rays, and Oakland Athletics. He is second all-time in saves and strikeouts among Australian MLB pitchers behind Liam Hendriks, and holds the Oakland Athletics consecutive save record at 44. Background Notable as one of only a handful of Australian-born Major League Baseball players, Balfour spent his first years at school attending Kings Langley Public School and high school years at William Clarke College in Kellyville, New South Wales. Baseball career Minnesota Twins Balfour made his major league debut with the Minnesota Twins in and played with them until . Cincinnati Reds After missing with an injury, he played in the Cincinnati Reds organization in . Milwaukee Brewers After a three-year absence, Balfour made his return to the major leagues on 18 July, , in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brad Hawpe
Bradley Bonte Hawpe (born June 22, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. Hawpe played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Before he became a professional, Hawpe attended Louisiana State University (LSU), where he played college baseball for the LSU Tigers. High school and college Hawpe went to Boswell High School in Saginaw, Texas, where he played first base and pitched under head coach David Hatcher. He also won a Texas 4A State Championship. Hawpe attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He was a member of the LSU Tigers baseball team that won the 2000 College World Series. In 1999, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. Professional career Hawpe was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 46th round of the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft; however, he did not sign. Hawpe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Crawford
Carl Demonte Crawford (born August 5, 1981), nicknamed "The Perfect Storm", is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. He batted and threw left-handed. Crawford is best known for his nine years with the Rays, during which he was considered one of the best baserunners in baseball. He led the American League in stolen bases and triples four times each while with Tampa Bay. Early life Crawford is a native of the Fifth Ward area of Houston. He participated in the Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities program, and attended Jefferson Davis High School in Houston, Texas, and was a letterman in football, basketball, and baseball. As a child, he was on the same little league team as Michael Bourn, who also played in MLB. In high school baseball, he began working with former #1 pick Willie Ansley after his sophomore year. He batted .638 as a senior. In the summer of h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
