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NL Wild Card
The wild card was established for Major League Baseball's playoffs in with the intention of helping the best teams that did not win their division to still have a chance to win the World Series. The restructuring of both the American League and National League from two to three divisions each made it necessary to either give one team a bye in the first round of playoffs, or create the wild card for the best second-place team. In addition, the wild card guaranteed that the team with the second-best record in each league would qualify for the playoffs, even if they were in the same division with the team having the best record. As the 1994 postseason was canceled due to the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, was the first postseason with a wild card team. Beginning in 2012, a second wild card team was added to each league. The two wild card teams in each league face each other in a one-game playoff, the Wild Card Game, with the winner advancing to meet the number one seed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. The NL and AL were formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively. Beginning in 1903, the two leagues signed the National Agreement and cooperated but remained legally separate entities until 2000, when they merged into a single organization led by the Commissioner of Baseball. MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. It is also included as one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. Baseball's first all-professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was founded in 1869. Before that, some teams had secretly paid certain players. The first few decades of professional baseball were characterized by rivalries between leagues and by players who often jumped from one t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1995 Major League Baseball Season
The 1995 Major League Baseball season was the first season to be played under the expanded postseason format, as the League Division Series (LDS) was played in both the American and National leagues for the first time, since the 1981 strike-split season. However, due to the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike which carried into the 1995 season, a shortened 144-game schedule commenced on April 25, when the Florida Marlins played host to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Atlanta Braves became the first franchise to win World Series championships for three cities. Along with their 1995 title, the Braves won in 1914 as the ''Boston Braves'', and in 1957 as the ''Milwaukee Braves''. Regular season After the 1994 season was ended due to the players' strike, there was still a deal that had to be worked out. However, it wasn't until major league owners parlayed plans to have replacement players play in 1995 that the players got into serious negotiations. Due to the strike, there was no off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1997 Atlanta Braves Season
The 1997 Atlanta Braves season marked the franchise's 32nd season in Atlanta and 127th overall. The Braves won their seventh consecutive division title, taking the National League East title by 9 games over the second place Florida Marlins. However, the Marlins would later defeat the Braves in the 1997 National League Championship Series. 1997 was the first year that the Braves played their home games in Turner Field, a reconstruction of the former Centennial Olympic Stadium, which originally served as the main venue for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Off season * November 20, 1996: John Smoltz was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves. * November 25, 1996: Paul Byrd was traded by the New York Mets with a player to be named later to the Atlanta Braves for Greg McMichael. The New York Mets sent Andy Zwirchitz (minors) (May 25, 1997) to the Atlanta Braves to complete the trade. * December 19, 1996: Mike Bielecki was signed as a free agent with the Atlanta Braves. * March 25, 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1997 National League Championship Series
The 1997 National League Championship Series (NLCS) pitted the Florida Marlins against the Atlanta Braves. The Marlins won the series, 4–2, and went on to defeat the Cleveland Indians in the 1997 World Series. Background Both teams hailed from the NL East division, the 101-win Braves being the division champions while the Marlins made the playoffs courtesy of the wild card. Both the Braves and Marlins swept their opponents during the Division Series. This was the second all-Southern postseason series, the first being in the previous round when Atlanta beat the Houston Astros. However, it was the first all-Southern postseason series to take place entirely in one time zone. This series marked the high point for the Braves-Marlins rivalry, as the Marlins made the playoffs only once from 1998–2019 (2003, which also ended with a World Series title). However, both franchises would eventually meet in the postseason again in the 2020 National League Division Series. Summary Atla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
