Bob Johnson (infielder)
Robert Wallace Johnson (March 4, 1936 – November 12, 2019), nicknamed "Rocky", was an American professional baseball player. Largely a utility infielder and pinch hitter, Johnson appeared in 11 Major League Baseball seasons, from 1960 through 1970, for seven clubs, including the 1966 World Series champion Baltimore Orioles. He threw and batted right-handed, stood tall, and weighed . Playing career Johnson's 11-season MLB career began with the Kansas City Athletics and ended with the same franchise, when it was based in Oakland. He was a member of the expansion Washington Senators during their maiden season in the American League, then moved on to the Orioles, where he would play four full seasons and establish himself as a top pinch hitter. In 1964 he led the American League with 45 pinch hit at bats and 15 pinch hits. Three years later, in 1967, Johnson collected 13 pinch hits in 34 at-bats in a season split between the Orioles and the National League's New York Mets. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Utility Player
In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The term has gained prominence in all sports due to its use in fantasy leagues, but in rugby union and rugby league, it is commonly used by commentators to recognize a player's versatility. The use of this term to describe a player may in some circumstances be a backhanded compliment, as it suggests the player is not good enough to be considered a specialist in one position (i.e., a jack of all trades). Association football In association football, like other sports, a utility player can play in several positions in the outfield. Nowadays, most outfield players, especially midfielders, at the professional level can play multiple positions. The most common dual role is when a central defender is played in the left or right fu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Pinch Hitter
In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American football or ice hockey, and in a similar way to association football, baseball does not have a free substitution rule (at the professional level) and thus the replaced player is not allowed back into that game. The pinch hitter assumes the spot in the batting order of the player whom he replaces. Pinch hitters are commonly used to replace a weak hitter (often the pitcher) or to gain a platoon advantage. The player chosen to be a pinch hitter is often a backup infielder or outfielder whose defensive skills are limited. In Major League Baseball (MLB), catchers are less likely to be called upon to pinch-hit, because most teams have only two catchers. Pitchers are rarely used as pinch hitters, because they tend to be worse hitters th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |
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Infield
Infield is a sports term whose definition depends on the sport in whose context it is used. Baseball In baseball, the baseball field, diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, usually grass-covered, ''outfield''. The "diamond" can also refer to the defensive unit of players that are positioned in the region: first baseman, second baseman, shortstop, third baseman. Sometimes it includes the catcher and pitcher who (as a tandem) are often referred to separately as the Battery (baseball), battery. In baseball the physical infield is where most of the action in a baseball game occurs, as it includes that area where the all-important duel between the pitcher and batting (baseball), batter takes place. The pitcher stands on the pitcher's mound (a raised mound of dirt located at the center of the infield) and from there he pitches the ball to his catcher, who is crouched behind home plate sixty feet, six inches away a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1969 Oakland Athletics Season
The 1969 Oakland Athletics season was the 69th season for the Oakland Athletics franchise, all as members of the American League, and their 2nd season in Oakland. The Athletics finished the season with a record of 88 wins and 74 losses. With its expansion to 12 teams in 1969, the American League had been divided into two 6-team divisions. In their first year in the newly established American League West, the Athletics finished second, nine games behind the Minnesota Twins. It was the first time they had finished in the first place in a division since 1952 Philadelphia Athletics season. Paid attendance for the season was 778,232. Offseason * October 15, 1968: Joe Keough was drafted from the Athletics by the Kansas City Royals as the 8th pick in the 1968 MLB expansion draft. * December 2, 1968: Darrell Evans was drafted from the Athletics by the Atlanta Braves in the 1968 rule 5 draft. Regular season *Reggie Jackson hit 47 home runs in 1969, and was briefly ahead of the pace t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1967 New York Mets Season
The 1967 New York Mets season was the sixth regular season for the Mets. They went 61–101 and finished tenth in the National League, games behind the NL pennant and World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals. They were managed by Wes Westrum and Salty Parker. They played home games at Shea Stadium. One of the only bright spots was rookie pitcher Tom Seaver (whom the Mets won the right to draft in a lottery) who posted a 2.76 ERA, a 16–13 record and was voted to his first All-Star Game. Seaver's arrival would help turn the Mets around from lovable losers to legitimate contenders. Offseason * October 12, 1966: Lou Klimchock and Ernie Bowman were traded by the Mets to the Cleveland Indians for Floyd Weaver. * November 29, 1966: Amos Otis was drafted by the Mets from the Boston Red Sox in the 1966 minor league draft. * November 29, 1966: Ron Hunt and Jim Hickman were traded by the Mets to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Tommy Davis and Derrell Griffith. * November 30, 1966: ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Batting Average (baseball)
In baseball, batting average (BA) is determined by dividing a player's hits by their total at-bats. It is usually rounded to three decimal places and read without the decimal: A player with a batting average of .300 is said to be "batting three hundred". If necessary to break ties, batting averages could be taken beyond the .001 measurement. In this context, .001 is considered a "point", such that a .235 batter is five points higher than a .230 batter. History Henry Chadwick, an English statistician raised on cricket, was an influential figure in the early history of baseball. He is credited with creating the modern box score, in 1859, and the practice of denoting a strikeout with a "K". Chadwick wrote in 1869: "In making up a score at the close of the match the record should be as follows:–Name of player, total number of times the first base was made by clean hits, total bases so made, left on bases after clean hits, and the number of times the first base has been made on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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National League (baseball)
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP) of 1871–1875 (often called simply the "National Association"), the NL is sometimes called the Senior Circuit, in contrast to MLB's other league, the American League, which was founded 25 years later and is called the "Junior Circuit". Both leagues currently have 15 teams. The National League survived competition from various other professional baseball leagues during the late 19th century. Most did not last for more than a few seasons, with a handful of teams joining the NL once their leagues folded. The American League declared itself a second major league in 1901, and the AL and NL engaged in a "baseball war" durin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hit (baseball)
In baseball statistics, a hit (denoted by H), also called a base hit, is credited to a batting (baseball), batter when the batter safely reaches or passes first base after hitting the ball into fair ball, fair territory with neither the benefit of an error (baseball), error nor a fielder's choice. Scoring a hit To achieve a hit, the batter must reach first base before any fielder can either tag out, tag him with the ball, throw to another player protecting the base before the batter reaches it, or force play, tag first base while carrying the ball. The hit is scored the moment the batter reaches first base safely; if he is put out while attempting to stretch his hit to a double (baseball), double or triple (baseball), triple or home run on the same play, he still gets credit for a hit (according to the last base he reached safely on the play). If a batter reaches first base because of offensive interference by a preceding runner (including if a preceding runner is hit by a batt ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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At Bats
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, but a batter is charged with an at bat only if that plate appearance does not have one of the results enumerated below. While at bats are used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average and slugging percentage, players can qualify for the season-ending rankings in these categories only if they accumulate 502 plate appearances during the season. Batters will not be charged an at bat if their plate appearances end under the following circumstances: * Receiving a base on balls (BB).In 1887, Major League Baseball counted bases on balls as hits (and thus as at-bats). The result was high batting averages, including some near .500, and the experiment was abandoned the following season. * Being hit by a pitch (HBP). * Hitting a s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League (original), Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to Major League Baseball, major league status. It is sometimes called the Junior Circuit because it claimed Major League status for the 1901 season, 25 years after the formation of the National League (baseball), National League (the "Senior Circuit"). Since 1903, the American League champion has played in the World Series against the National League champion with only two exceptions: 1904, when the NL champion New York Giants (baseball), New York Giants refused to play their AL counterpart, and 1994, when a 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike, players' strike resulted in the cancellation of the Series. Through ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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1961 Washington Senators Season
The 1961 Washington Senators season was the team's inaugural season, having been established as a replacement for the previous franchise of the same name, which relocated to the Twin Cities of Minnesota following the 1960 season, becoming the Minnesota Twins. The Senators finished in a tie for ninth place in the ten-team American League with a record of 61–100, games behind the World Champion New York Yankees. It was also the team's only season at Griffith Stadium before moving its games to D.C. Stadium for the following season. The expansion team drew 597,287 fans, tenth and last in the circuit. The old Senators had drawn 743,404 fans in 1960. Offseason The Senators, along with the Los Angeles Angels, were the first ever American League expansion teams. Both teams participated in Major League Baseball's first ever expansion draft. The Senators used their first pick in the 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft to select pitcher Bobby Shantz from the New York Yankees ( ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |