2011 Toronto Blue Jays Season
The 2011 Toronto Blue Jays season was the 35th season of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays franchise, and the 22nd full season of play (23rd overall) at the Rogers Centre. It was also the first season with John Farrell as the team's manager. The Blue Jays had an up-and-down season, finishing with an 81–81 record, in fourth place in the American League East. Season standings American League East American League Wild Card Records vs opponents Season summary Following an unexpectedly successful 2010 season, one of the Blue Jays' priorities was to find a replacement for retiring manager Cito Gaston. After reviewing many candidates, the Blue Jays vetted four finalists, Sandy Alomar Jr., DeMarlo Hale, John Farrell and their third base coach Brian Butterfield. The Jays hired Farrell on October 22, 2010. Relief pitcher Scott Downs declined arbitration, becoming a free agent; he signed with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on December 10, 2010. Catcher Jo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Mike Wilner
Michael Samuel Wilner (born March 14, 1970) is a Canadian former baseball broadcaster for the Toronto Blue Jays. From 2014 through 2020, he called play-by-play for the Blue Jays' radio broadcasts, and authored a blog on Sportsnet.ca/590. He formerly hosted a postgame radio call-in show called ''BlueJaysTalk'' on the Fan 590. He graduated from the University of Toronto in 1994. , Wilner has been a baseball columnist for the Toronto Star. Broadcasting career Wilner began his broadcasting career at the University of Toronto in 1988, and was named sports director there a year later. During his tenure at the University of Toronto, Wilner did play-by-play for various sports including hockey, basketball, and football. Wilner began his professional broadcasting career at the age of 19 with the Class-A Welland Pirates. He later did play-by-play for various baseball teams including the Class-A Watertown Indians, and the Double-A Hardware City Rock Cats. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, W ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 Kansas City Royals Season
The Kansas City Royals' season of 2011 was the 43rd for the Royals franchise. It was the fifth full season with Dayton Moore as general manager. The team was managed by Ned Yost in his first full season with the Royals. It was the 26th straight year of the Royals missing the playoffs. Offseason On November 10, 2010, the Royals traded outfielder David DeJesus for the right-handed, starting pitcher Vin Mazzaro from the Oakland Athletics and minor league pitcher Justin Marks. Mazzaro was 10–17 with a 4.72 ERA in 41 career Major League appearances, including 35 starts, for the Athletics in 2009 and 2010. Pitching Bruce Chen began the year with a 4–1 record and 3.59 ERA in seven starts for the Royals. Chen was placed on the 15-day Disabled List on May 11 (retroactive to May 6), with a strain, and right-handed pitcher Vin Mazzaro was recalled from the Omaha Storm Chasers. Mazzaro's first start was on May 11 versus the New York Yankees. Mazzaro's stay with the Royals was a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 Detroit Tigers Season
The 2011 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 111th season. The season began on March 31 at New York against the 2011 New York Yankees season, Yankees, and the home opener was on April 8 against the 2011 Kansas City Royals season, Kansas City Royals. The Tigers honored the late Sparky Anderson during the season. The Tigers sent five players to the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game: starting pitcher Justin Verlander, first baseman Miguel Cabrera, catcher Alex Avila, shortstop Jhonny Peralta, and closer José Valverde. The regular season concluded September 28 at home against the 2011 Cleveland Indians season, Cleveland Indians, with the Tigers holding a 95–67 record. The season saw the team's first 11-game winning streak since 1968 Detroit Tigers season, 1968, and first nine-game winning streak since 1984 Detroit Tigers season, 1984 – both years in which the Tigers went on to win the World Series. The streak ended at 12 games on September 14. It consisted of four consecu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 Cleveland Indians Season
The 2011 Cleveland Indians season marked the 111th season for the franchise, with the Indians improving on their fourth-place finish in the American League Central in 2010 by finishing in second place in 2011. The team played all of its home games at Progressive Field. During the offseason, franchise legend and Baseball Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller died on December 15, 2010. In honor of Feller, the Indians implemented many tributes to their former ace, including all players wearing No. 19 (Feller's jersey number retired by the club in 1957) during pre-game introductions on Opening Day, an outline patch of Feller's pitching motion sewn onto the team's jerseys and to be worn throughout the season, and the press-box seat used by Feller upon retirement made into a memorial. The 2011 season started off promising for the Cleveland Indians, as they raced out to a 30-15 start (7 games ahead of 2nd place Detroit), but would go 50-67 the rest of the season to slip out of f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 Chicago White Sox Season
The 2011 Chicago White Sox season was the club's 112th season in Chicago and 111th in the American League. The 2011 White Sox schedule was revealed at 7:00 pm Central Time on September 14, 2010 along with every other team in Major League Baseball. Offseason On December 2, 2010, the White Sox signed a new slugger Adam Dunn from the Washington Nationals for a 4yr/$56M contract. On that same day, the Sox also re-signed A. J. Pierzynski to a 2yr/$8M extension. Six days later, the Sox resigned Paul Konerko to a 3yr/$37.5M extension. With Dunn, Konerko, and Pierzynski, there is a 5% chance that the White Sox will win the 2011 World Series. On December 15, the White Sox acquired RHP Jesse Crain from the Minnesota Twins and offered a 3yr/$13M deal. On January 18, the Sox acquired RHP Philip Humber off waivers from the Oakland A's. One month prior, the A's claimed Humber from the Kansas City Royals. In addition to acquisitions, the White Sox also traded away some players, including ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American League Central
The American League Central is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed in the realignment of 1994 by moving three teams from the American League West and two teams from the American League East. Its teams are all located in the Midwestern United States. Along with the National League East, the AL Central is one of two divisions in the Major Leagues in which all of its members have won a World Series title. In fact, each team has captured at least two World Series championships. The Kansas City Royals were the most recent team from the division to win the World Series. Division membership Current members *Chicago White Sox – Founding member; formerly of the AL West *Cleveland Guardians – Founding member; formerly of the AL East; known as the Cleveland Indians until 2021 *Detroit Tigers – Joined in 1998; formerly of the AL East *Kansas City Royals – Founding member; formerly of the AL West *Minnesota Twins – Founding member; formerly of ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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 3, 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 C ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 New York Yankees Season
The 2011 New York Yankees season was the 109th season for the New York Yankees franchise. The Yankees began the season at home against the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, March 31. The Yankees clinched a playoff berth in the first game of a doubleheader on September 21, and clinched the American League East title in the second game. The Yankees season ended on October 6 when they lost a deciding Game 5 of the 2011 American League Division Series to the Detroit Tigers 3–2. It was the first time since 2007 that the Yankees lost an elimination game at home. The 2011 season was the final season in the playing career of longtime Yankees catcher Jorge Posada. Offseason Manager Joe Girardi's three-year contract with the Yankees ended at the conclusion of the 2010 season. Having won one World Series and bringing his team to the playoffs the past two seasons, the Yankees quickly signed him to a new 3-year deal worth $9 million. After firing pitching coach Dave Eiland, they replaced ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 Boston Red Sox Season
The 2011 Boston Red Sox season was the 111th season in the franchise's Major League Baseball history. Before the season, the Red Sox were favored to win the American League East and reach the World Series, with some comparing the team to the 1927 New York Yankees. With a record of 90–72, the Red Sox finished third in their division, seven games behind the Yankees. The club led the Tampa Bay Rays by nine games in the AL wild card race on September 3. Boston’s odds of reaching the postseason peaked at 99.6%, but the Red Sox lost 18 of their final 24 games. On the last day of the season, September 28, a ninth-inning Red Sox loss to the Baltimore Orioles via a blown save, coupled with an improbable late comeback from a 7–0 deficit in 12 innings by the Rays over the Yankees, made the Rays the AL wild card winners and eliminated the Red Sox from playoff contention. Offseason November *11/04/10-Detroit Tigers traded Brent Dlugach to Boston Red Sox. *11/07/10-3B Adrián B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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2011 Baltimore Orioles Season
The Baltimore Orioles' 2011 season was the 111th season in franchise history, the 58th in Baltimore, and the 20th at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. It also marked the last year of a streak of fourteen consecutive losing seasons dating back to 1998. Offseason The 2010–11 offseason has been notable for the Orioles, featuring a complete makeover of their infield, with only Brian Roberts expected to reprise his starting role. On December 6, 2010, the Orioles completed a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks for third basemen Mark Reynolds, in exchange for relief pitchers David Hernandez and Kam Mickolio. The next day, the Orioles lost corner infielder, second baseman (40 games in 2010), and lone 2010 All-Star representative Ty Wigginton when he signed with the Colorado Rockies. On December 9, however, a deal was struck with the Minnesota Twins, acquiring shortstop J. J. Hardy, utility infielder Brendan Harris and cash in exchange for minor league pitchers Jim Hoey and Brett ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager (commonly referred to as the manager) is the equivalent of a head coach who is responsible for overseeing and making final decisions on all aspects of on-field team strategy, lineup selection, training and instruction. Managers are typically assisted by a staff of assistant coaches whose responsibilities are specialized. Field managers are typically not involved in off-field personnel decisions or long-term club planning, responsibilities that are instead held by a team's general manager. Duties The manager chooses the batting order and starting pitcher before each game, and makes substitutions throughout the game – among the most significant being those decisions regarding when to bring in a relief pitcher. How much control a manager takes in a game's strategy varies from manager to manager and from game to game. Some managers control pitch selection, defensive positioning, decisions to bunt, steal, pitch out, etc., while others d ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |