Jackson Merrill
Jackson Peter Merrill (born April 19, 2003) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was selected in the first round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Padres and made his MLB debut in 2024. He was selected for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game. Early life and amateur career Merrill grew up in Severna Park, Maryland and attended Severna Park High School. Growing up, Merrill was a fan of the Boston Red Sox. He initially committed to play college baseball for the Army Black Knights during his junior year. Merrill's junior season was canceled due to COVID-19, after which he focused on physical training and gained over 30 pounds of muscle. He later changed his commitment to the Kentucky Wildcats in the fall of his senior year. As a high school senior, he batted .500 with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs and was named the Maryland Player of the Year by the '' Capital Gazette''. Professional career The San Diego Padres selected Merril ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL pennants—in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both years. As of 2022, they have had 16 winning seasons in franchise history. The Padres are one of two Major League Baseball teams (the other being the Los Angeles Angels) in California to originate from the state; the Athletics were originally from Philadelphia (and moved to the state from Kansas City), and the Dodgers and Giants are originally from two New York City boroughs—Brooklyn and Manhattan, respectively. As of 2022, the Padres are the only team in California not to have won a World Series. Following the relocation of the Chargers to Los Angeles in 2017, the Padres became the only franchise in the four major American professional sports leagues in the San Diego spo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Army Black Knights Baseball
: ''For information on all United States Military Academy sports, see Army Black Knights'' The Army Black Knights baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, United States. The team is a member of the Patriot League, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. Army's first baseball team was fielded in 1890. The team plays its home games at Johnson Stadium at Doubleday Field in West Point, New York. The Black Knights are coached by Chris Tracz. Major League Baseball Army has had 20 Major League Baseball Draft selections since the draft began in 1965. On August 12, 2017, Chris Rowley (2010–13) became the first West Point Graduate to play in the Major Leagues, pitching 5.2 innings and allowing 1 run against the Pittsburgh Pirates, earning the win. Games versus professional baseball teams Records See also *List of NCAA Division I baseball programs The following is a l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Opening Day
Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years it has occasionally fallen in the last week of March. In Nippon Professional Baseball, this day typically falls during the last week of March. For baseball fans, Opening Day serves as a symbol of rebirth; writer Thomas Boswell once penned a book titled, ''Why Time Begins on Opening Day''. Many feel that the occasion is a moment to forget last season, in that all teams begin anew with records. Pre-season exhibition games are usually played in the month before Opening Day, during spring training. A home opener is a team's first game of the season on their home field. Equivalents to Opening Day occur throughout the sport, including minor leagues, college baseball, high school, and youth leagues. Because MLB generally begins its season e ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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San Antonio Missions
The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded. The Missions play their home games at Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium, which opened in 1994 and seats over 6,200 people with a total capacity of over 9,000. History Early years San Antonio was home for one of the charter members of the Texas League back in 1888. Since that inaugural season the town has hosted a number of Texas League franchises, most of them using the Missions moniker. Baseball was absent only a few of the early years (1889-1891,1893–1894, 1900–1902) and again when World War II occupied most would-be ballplayers between 1943 and 1945. Initially the team went by the names "Missionaries", "Gentlemen", and "Bronchos"—a Spanish twist on the name "Broncos". During these years, nearly 250 players reached the major l ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fort Wayne TinCaps
The Fort Wayne TinCaps are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and play their home games at Parkview Field. They won their lone Midwest League championship in 2009. History The Midwest League came to Fort Wayne in . The franchise is the oldest in the Midwest League and dates back to the league's beginning as the Illinois State League, starting in in Mattoon, Illinois as the Mattoon Indians. In the team moved to Keokuk, Iowa, where it spent five seasons as the Keokuk Cardinals; it was then based in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin (–) and Kenosha, Wisconsin (–) before moving to Fort Wayne. The team was a Minnesota Twins farm team before they affiliated with the Padres in . When the team moved to Fort Wayne in 1993, it adopted a new name, the Wizards. The name TinCaps was chosen following the 2008 season, alluding to John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed (1 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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California League
The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the Low-A West before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, league attendance continued to increase each season, with over one million fans attending games per year, part of a general nationwide growth and expansion to smaller towns, cities, and regions below those in the National League or American League with Minor League Baseball at various levels of play in growing popularity in the last few decades. History There were various attempts in the late 1800s and early 1900s to form a "California League" on the West Coast, considering the distance of the two current major leagues which general ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Single-A
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 t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lake Elsinore Storm
The Lake Elsinore Storm are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The Storm plays their home games at Lake Elsinore Diamond (Pete Lehr Field), which opened in 1994; the park seats 7,866 fans. History This team relocated three times and has been traced back to the Redwood Pioneers, then the Palm Springs Angels, and finally the Lake Elsinore Storm. As the Palm Springs Angels and later as the Storm, it had previously been the "high-A" affiliate of the Angels until the end of the 2000 season (along with their former mascot, Hamlet), when it and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes switched affiliations. Some former members of the Storm later became members of the Angels 2002 World Series championship team. On May 18, 2007, the Storm set a league record for most lopsided victory, beating the Lancaster JetHawks by a 30–0 score. Since the 2004 opening of Petco Park, the new home field of the Padres, the Storm have pla ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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At-bat
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 during their turn at bat, but a batter is credited 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, a player can qualify for the season-ending rankings in these categories only if they accumulate 502 plate appearances during the season. Batters will not receive credit for an at bat if their plate appearances end under the following circumstances: * They receive 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. * They are hit by a pitch (HBP). * Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arizona Complex League Padres
The Arizona Complex League Padres are a Rookie-level affiliate of the San Diego Padres, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, which is also the spring training home of the major-league Padres. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball either as draftees or non-drafted free agents. History The team first competed in the Arizona League (AZL) from 1988 to 2000. For the 1988–1992 seasons, the team played its home games at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale. The team moved to Peoria and the Peoria Sports Complex in 1993. After being absent from the league from 2001 through 2003, the team resumed operation in 2004 and has competed since then. In 2006, the team won the first-half title and went on to win the league championship by defeating the AZL Angels, 5–2. For the 2017–2019 seasons, the team fielded two squads in th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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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]   |