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2008 Toronto Blue Jays Season
The 2008 Toronto Blue Jays season, the team's 32nd year of existence, saw the Blue Jays finish in fourth place in the American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses for a .531 winning percentage, thus making this season the third consecutive winning season for the Jays, as well as being the highest win–loss record since their 2006 season. Off-season General Manager J. P. Ricciardi maintained through the off-season that he was content with the Blue Jays' roster as it was. Nevertheless, he made a number of moves, two of which would likely have a significant effect on the team in the 2008 season. The team's acquisition of all-star shortstop David Eckstein was met with a mixed reception from fans and critics. Eckstein's role on the team would displace two of Toronto's most popular players from their regular roles; Reed Johnson as leadoff hitter and John McDonald as starting shortstop. Eckstein was signed to fill the leadoff spot in the order which was void of a tr ... [...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 (baseball), National League (NL). This division was created before the start of the along with the American League West. 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 Major League Baseball season, the team with the best record in the division earns one of the AL's six Major League Baseball postseason, playoff spots. 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 28 times, and 16 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rod Black
Rod Black (born September 28, 1962) is a Canadian sports announcer best known for his work with CTV Sports and TSN from 1990 to 2021. He is now a host and brand ambassador for NorthStar Bets, a brand of NorthStar Gaming. Education Black was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Prior to coming onto the national scene, Black studied Creative Communications at Red River College. Career Black got his start as a sports announcer at the age of 19 at the local CTV affiliate (now owned station) CKY-TV where he soon became host of the Winnipeg Jets’ NHL broadcasts. He also hosted ''CKY Sports Sunday''. By 1990, Black moved to the network's Toronto-based CTV Sports division. There, he anchored events including CTV's coverage of the 1991 Canada Cup. He worked CTV's coverage of the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1994 Winter Olympics, as well as the CTV-led consortium's coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics and the 2012 Summer Olympics. He also called events for CTV Sportsnet from its launch in 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Third Baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeeping, scoring system used to record defensive plays, the third baseman is assigned the number 5. Third base is known as the "hot corner", because the third baseman is often the infielder who stands closest to the batter—roughly 90–120 feet away, but even closer if a Bunt (baseball), bunt is expected. Most right-handed hitters tend to hit the ball hard in this direction. A third baseman must possess good hand-eye coordination and quick reactions to catch batted balls whose speed can exceed . The third base position requires a strong and accurate arm, as the third baseman often makes long throws to first base or quick ones to second baseman, second base to start a double play. As with middle infielders, right-handed throwing players are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matt Stairs
Matthew Wade Stairs (born February 27, 1968) is a Canadian former professional baseball outfielder, first baseman, and designated hitter, who holds the record for most pinch-hit home runs in Major League Baseball (MLB) history with 23. His pinch-hit home run in the eighth inning of Game 4 in the 2008 National League Championship Series off the Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Jonathan Broxton was called "one of the most memorable home runs in Phillies history". In his career, Stairs played for more teams than any position player in MLB history (12—technically 13 teams, but 12 franchises, as he played for the Montreal Expos and Washington Nationals); Edwin Jackson holds the record for pitchers and all players at 14. Additionally, he is one of only four Canadians to have played for both the Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos, the others being Denis Boucher, Rob Ducey, and Shawn Hill. He was the second Canadian-born player ever to hit more than thirty-five home runs in a s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shannon Stewart (baseball)
Shannon Harold Stewart (born February 25, 1974) is an American former professional baseball outfielder with the Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball. Early life Stewart was born in Cincinnati and attended Miami Southridge High School in South Miami Heights, Florida. He played baseball and football and ran track at Miami Southridge. He was recruited by Bobby Bowden to play football at Florida State as a defensive back. He was named to the 1992 American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings High School All-America Second Team. His number would later be retired by the baseball team at Miami Southridge. Professional career Toronto Blue Jays Stewart was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 19th pick of the 1992 MLB Draft as compensation for the Los Angeles Dodgers signing Tom Candiotti. He made his Major League debut on September 2, 1995 against the Chicago White Sox. Stewart fluctuated between the majors and minors over the next s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John McDonald (infielder)
John Joseph McDonald (born September 24, 1974) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim between 1999 and 2014. Primarily a shortstop, he was also a utility infielder, with the ability to also play second base, third base and left field. He also appeared in one extra inning game in 2013 as an emergency pitcher. Known for his defensive ability, he posted a career fielding percentage of .974 in over 6,450 innings. High school and college McDonald graduated from East Lyme High School in East Lyme, Connecticut in 1992. When he was not drafted by any major league baseball team in his initial draft year, he attended University of Connecticut Avery Point Campus, where he was NJCAA Division II All-American in 1994 as shortstop. He went on to play at Providence ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leadoff Hitter
In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the batting order (baseball), lineup. It can also refer to any batter who bats first in any inning. Strategy Traditionally, the leadoff hitter has been utilized as a contact-oriented position. The leadoff hitter is usually tasked with being able to reach base at a proficient on-base percentage and generate Run (baseball), runs for the team. Secondary goals for such a player include wearing down a pitcher's stamina and providing a dangerous presence along the basepaths to create more offensive opportunities. As a result, the prototypical leadoff hitter is Small ball (baseball), small ball oriented, with elements such as contact ability, speed, patience, and occasionally defense elevated to an important level. Power hitters, instead, would be put in the third and fourth slots to drive in the leadoff hitter and produce more runs as a result, thus deemphasizing the necessity for power amongst leadoff hitters. The correlatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reed Johnson
Reed Cameron Johnson (born December 8, 1976) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins, and Washington Nationals. College career Johnson was born in Riverside, California and grew up in Temecula, in southern Riverside County. He attended Temecula Valley High School, where he participated in baseball and soccer. He was an All-League and an All-County selection. Johnson attended college at Cal State Fullerton and was named an Academic All-American. He also set records by being the first Cal State Fullerton player to score 100 runs and collect 100 hits in a season. In 1998, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Professional career Toronto Blue Jays Johnson was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 17th round of the 1999 MLB Draft. In the minors, he was a Southern League A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Eckstein
David Mark Eckstein (; born January 20, 1975) is an American former professional baseball player. He was an infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for ten seasons. He played college baseball for the University of Florida and played professionally for the Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, and San Diego Padres. Eckstein won the 2006 World Series Most Valuable Player Award. After retiring from professional baseball, he briefly served as a special assistant in the Pittsburgh Pirates operations department. Eckstein stood at 5' 7" during his playing career, which made him the shortest active player for the years he played. Amateur career High school Eckstein played baseball all four years at Seminole High School in Sanford, Florida. He was a two-time all-state selection, and a prominent member of a state championship team. He was also a member of the National Honor Society and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Eckstein was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, 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 (baseball), batting order. Today, shortstops are often able to hit well and many are placed at the top of the lineup. In the Baseball positions, numbering system used by Baseball scorekeeping, 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-handedness, right-handed hitters in baseball than Left-handedness, left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to Pull hitter, pull the ball slightly. Like a second baseman, a shortstop must be agile, for example when performing a Glossary of b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All-star
An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sports term refers to individual players named to an "all-star" roster or team representing the top performers (members of such a team were ''all wikt:star, stars'' from other teams) during and before the end of a season in a given sport, or to a list of top participants who played in individual sports such as golf and bowling. Events limited to such honorees are referred to as "all-star games" or events. In American team sports the premier all-star games are the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, NBA All-Star Game (basketball), Pro Bowl (football), NHL All-Star Game (hockey), and MLS All-Star Game (soccer). Many all-star teams, such as collegiate "all-conference" and All-America squads, are recognitions of performance only, without the conno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Manager
A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of the firm's marketing and sales functions as well as the day-to-day operations of the business. Frequently, the general manager is responsible for effective planning, delegating, coordinating, staffing, organizing, and decision making to attain desirable profit making results for an organization. In many cases, the general manager of a business is given a different formal title or titles. Most corporate managers holding the titles of chief executive officer (CEO) or president, for example, are the general managers of their respective businesses. More rarely, the chief financial officer (CFO), chief operating officer (COO), or chief marketing officer (CMO) will act as the general manager of the business. Depending on the company, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
