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Kevin Smith (baseball)
Kevin Smith (born July 4, 1996) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2021 with the Toronto Blue Jays. High school and college Smith graduated from Columbia High School in East Greenbush, New York, and later attended the University of Maryland, College Park. He played three seasons as the starting shortstop for the Maryland Terrapins. In his freshman season, Smith appeared in 66 games and recorded a .273 batting average, seven home runs, 35 runs batted in (RBI), and a team-leading 11 stolen bases. As a sophomore, Smith hit .259 with eight home runs and 34 RBI. In 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he hit .301 with 12 doubles and two home runs, was a league all-star and named a top prospect in the league by '' Baseball America'', ''Perfect Game'', and D1Baseball.com, and was named the Most Valuable Pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who were typically poor at batting and were often placed at the bottom of the batting order. Today, shortstops are often able to hit well and many are placed at the top of the lineup. In the numbering system used by scorers to record defensive plays, the shortstop is assigned the number 6. More hit balls go to the shortstop than to any other position, as there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the ball slightly. Like a second baseman, a shortstop must be agile, for example when performing a 4-6-3 double play. Also, like a third baseman, the shortstop fields balls hit to the left side of the infield, where a strong arm is needed to throw out a batter-runner b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stolen Base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out at the next base, but the official scorer rules on the question of credit or blame for the advance under Rule 10 (Rules of Scoring) of the MLB's Official Rules. A stolen base most often occurs when a base runner advances to the next base while the pitcher is pitching the ball to home plate. Successful base stealers are not only fast but have good base-running instincts and timing. Background Ned Cuthbert, playing for the Philadelphia Keystones in either 1863 or 1865, was the first player to steal a base in a baseball game, although the term ''stolen base'' was not used until 1870. For a time in the 19th century, stolen bases were credited when a baserunner reached an extra base on a base hit from another player. For example, if ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lansing Lugnuts
The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field. The Midwest League came to Lansing after owners Tom Dickson and Sherrie Myers moved the team to work with the city for a public-private lease to build a new stadium. Mayor David Hollister, and the City Council worked to attract the owners and build the stadium for downtown economic development. The team began playing in downtown Lansing in 1996. The franchise began as the Lafayette Red Sox in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1955; after two seasons it became the Waterloo Hawks, moving to Waterloo, Iowa, where it stayed for 36 seasons. Before the 1994 season it moved to Springfield, Illinois, but only spent two seasons there before moving to Lansing. The franchise was an affiliate of the Kansas City Royals on two occasions in three cities: as the Waterloo Royals from 1969 through 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Class A (baseball)
Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each team in Major League Baseball (MLB), organized into three leagues: the California League, Carolina League, and Florida State League. History Class A was originally the highest level of Minor League Baseball, beginning with the earliest classifications, established circa 1890. Teams within leagues at this level had their players' contracts protected and the players were subject to reserve clauses. When the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues – the formal name of Minor League Baseball – was founded in 1901, Class A remained the highest level, restricted to leagues with cities that had an aggregate population of over a million people. Entering the 1902 season, the only Class A leagues were the Eastern League and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball-Reference
Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advanced baseball sabermetrics in addition to traditional baseball "counting stats". Baseball-Reference is part of Sports Reference, LLC; according to an article in Street & Smith's ''Sports Business Journal'', the company's sites have more than one million unique users per month. History Founder Sean Forman began developing the website while working on his Ph.D. dissertation in applied math and computational science at the University of Iowa. While writing his dissertation, he had also been writing articles on and blogging about sabermetrics. Forman's database was originally built from the '' Total Baseball'' series of baseball encyclopedias. The website went online in April 2000, after first being launched in February 2000 as part of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bluefield Blue Jays
The Bluefield Blue Jays were a minor league baseball team of the Rookie Appalachian League representing the twin cities of Bluefield, West Virginia, and Bluefield, Virginia. The team played their home games at Bowen Field at Peters Park, a historic stadium (opened in 1939) in Bluefield's city park. The park, which straddles the West Virginia–Virginia state line, was operated by the West Virginia city; however, Bowen Field lies entirely within Virginia. Upon the minor league reorganization in 2020, the team's partnership with the Toronto Blue Jays ended and they became the Bluefield Ridge Runners. History On August 28, 2010, Andy MacPhail, then-president of baseball operations for the Baltimore Orioles announced that Baltimore was ending their affiliation with Bluefield and the Appalachian League, effective at the end of the 2010 Appalachian League season. Bluefield's 53 season affiliation with the Orioles, which lasted from 1958 to 2010, had been the oldest continuous affili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Signing Bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive to the employee (e.g., if the annual salary is lower than they desire). It also lowers the risk to the company as it is a one-time payment; for example, if the employee does not meet expectations, the company has not committed to a higher salary. Signing bonuses are often used in professional sports, and to recruit graduates into their first jobs. To encourage employees to stay at the organization, there are often clauses in the contract whereby if the employee quits before a specified period, they must return the signing bonus. In sports contracts, the full amount of signing bonuses is not always paid immediately, but spread out over time. In such cases, the main difference between a signing bonus and base salary is that the former is "g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2017 Major League Baseball Draft
The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remainder of the draft was live streamed on MLB.com on June 13 and 14. With the worst record in the 2016 MLB season, the Minnesota Twins received the first overall pick. Compensation picks were distributed for players who did not sign from the 2016 MLB Draft. Also, fourteen small-market teams competed in a lottery for additional competitive balance picks, with six teams receiving an additional pick after the first round, and eight teams receiving an additional pick after the second round. The Twins selected Royce Lewis with the first overall selection. First round selections Compensatory round Competitive Balance Round A Other notable selections Notes ;Compensation picks References External links2017 Majo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Most Valuable Player
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or on a specific team. The purpose of the award is recognize the contribution of the individual's efforts amongst a group effort, and to highlight the excellence, exemplariness, and/or outstandingness of a player's performance amidst the performance of their peers in question. The term can have different connotations depending on the context in which it is used. A 'League MVP' is the most valuable player in an entire league, and refers to the player whose performance is most excellent in the league. Similarly, a "Team MVP" is the most valuable player on a team, referring to the player whose team contribution is greatest amongst their teammates. In many sports, MVP awards are presented for a specific match—in other words ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball America
''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form of an editorial and stats website, a monthly magazine, a podcast network, and three annual reference book titles. It also regularly produces lists of the top prospects in the sport, and covers aspects of the game from a scouting and player-development point of view. Industry insiders look to BA for its expertise and insights related to annual and future MLB Drafts classes. The publication's motto is "The most trusted source in baseball." History ''Baseball America'' was founded in 1981 and has since grown into a full-service media company. Founder Allan Simpson began writing the magazine from Canada, originally calling it the ''All-America Baseball News''. By 1983, Simpson moved the magazine to Durham, North Carolina, after it was purch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay (see error) or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice. A double is a type of hit (the others being the single, triple and home run) and is sometimes called a "two-bagger" or "two-base hit". For statistical and scorekeeping purposes it is denoted by 2B. Description Typically, a double is a well-hit ball into the outfield that finds the "gap" between the center fielder and one of the corner outfielders, bounces off the outfield wall and down into the field of play, or is hit up one of the two foul lines. To hit many doubles, a batter must have decent hitting skill and power; it also helps to run well enough to beat an outfield throw. Doubles typically drive in runs from third base, second base, and even from first base at times. When total bases and slugging percentages ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Cod Baseball League
The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousand former players who have gone on to play in the major leagues. History Pre-modern era Origins As early as the 1860s, baseball teams representing various Cape Cod towns and villages were competing against one another. The earliest newspaper account is of an 1867 game in Sandwich between the hometown "Nichols Club" and the visiting Cummaquid team. Though not formalized as a league, the games provided entertainment for residents and summer visitors. In 1885, a Fourth of July baseball game was held matching teams from Barnstable and Sandwich. According to contemporary accounts, the 1885 contest may have been at least the twelfth such annual game. By the late 19th century, an annual championship baseball tournament was being held each ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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