Joe Zdeb
Joseph Edmund Zdeb (born June 27, 1953) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played all or part of three seasons in Major League Baseball with the Kansas City Royals from 1977 to 1979, primarily as a left fielder. Early life Zdeb attended Maine South High School in Park Ridge, Illinois, where he played both baseball and American football, football. A fullback (American football), fullback, he signed a letter of intent to play football at the University of Missouri, with a promise that he would also be allowed to play baseball. However, when he was made the 4th round pick of the Kansas City Royals in the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft, 1971 amateur draft, he chose to join the Royals organization instead. Playing career Early career In his first season of professional baseball, Zdeb was assigned to the rookie league Billings Mustangs, where he batted .184. He also spent 1972 in rookie ball with the Kingsport Royals, where he improved to a .319 batting ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Left Fielder
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the left fielder is assigned the number seven. Position description Of all outfielders, the left fielder often will have the weakest arm, as he generally does not need to throw the ball as far to prevent the advance of any baserunners. The left fielder still requires good fielding and catching skills, and tends to receive more balls than the right fielder because right-handed hitters tend to "pull" the ball into left field. The left fielder also backs up third baseman, third base on pick-off attempts from the catcher or pitcher and bunts, when possible. Moreover, when a runner is stealing third base, the left fielder must back up the throw from the catcher. Left fielders must also back up third base when ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kingsport Royals
Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It lies along the Holston River and had a population of 55,442 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city in the Kingsport–Bristol metropolitan area, which had 307,613 residents in 2020. The metro area is a component of the larger Tri-Cities region of Tennessee and Virginia, with a population of 508,260 in 2020. Kingsport was chartered in 1822. The city's name is a simplification of King's Port, originally referring to the area on the Holston River known as King's Boat Yard, the head of navigation for the Tennessee Valley. Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the "Mountain Empire" in southwest Virginia and northeastern Tennessee. History Kingsport was developed after the Revolutionary War, at the confluence of the North and South Forks of the Holston River. In 1787 it was known as "Salt Lick" for an ancient mineral lick. It was first settled along the banks of the Sout ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jim Wohlford
James Eugene Wohlford (born February 28, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1972 to 1986 for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, and the Montreal Expos. Baseball career Wohlford spent most of his career as a reserve outfielder, typically in left field. He was often used as a defensive replacement due to his fielding skills. With the 1974 Kansas City Royals, he had a batting average of .271. 1974 was the only year Wohlford ever had more than 500 at bats. He had a .260 career batting average. He signed a five-year free agent contract with the San Francisco Giants on December 12, 1979. During his Major League career, he became notable for saying the line, "Ninety percent of this game is half-mental." Post playing career After his playing career ended, Wohlford has worked as a financial planner in Visalia, California Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lou Gorman
James Gerald "Lou" Gorman (February 18, 1929 – April 1, 2011) was an American baseball executive, and the former general manager of the Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. He spent more than three decades in baseball operations, as a general manager, assistant GM, farm system director or scouting director, and at the time of his death he was the Red Sox' executive consultant for public affairs with an emphasis on community projects. He also was the coordinator of the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame, to which he was inducted in 2002. Early years A native of South Providence, Rhode Island, Gorman grew up a Red Sox fan. At the high school level, at La Salle Academy in Providence, he was an excellent athlete—he was nicknamed after Lou Gehrig—but was cut from the minors. His Baseball Reference player page records that a 19-year-old Gorman played in 16 games for the 1948 Providence Grays of the Class B New England League, compiling a batting average of .03 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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General Manager (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, the general manager (GM) of a team typically controls player transactions and bears the primary responsibility on behalf of the ballclub during contract discussions with players. Roles and responsibilities The general manager is normally the person who hires and fires the coaching staff, including the field manager who acts as the head coach. In baseball, the term ''manager'' used without qualification almost always refers to the field manager, not the general manager. Before the 1960s, and in some rare cases since then, a person with the general manager title in sports has also borne responsibility for the non-player operations of the ballclub, such as ballpark administration and broadcasting. Ed Barrow, George Weiss and Gabe Paul were three baseball GMs noted for their administrative skills in both player and non-player duties. History and evolution In the first decades of baseball's post-1901 modern era, responsibilities for player acquisition ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Joe Gordon
Joseph Lowell Gordon (February 18, 1915 – April 14, 1978), nicknamed "Flash", in reference to the comic-book character '' Flash Gordon'', was an American second baseman, coach and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians from 1938 to 1950. He was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009. Gordon was the outstanding player at his position during the 1940s, winning the American League MVP Award and being named to ''The Sporting News'' Major League All-Star Team in nine of his eleven seasons. Known for his acrobatic defense, he led the AL in assists four times and in double plays three times. He was the first AL second baseman to hit 20 home runs in a season, doing so seven times, is second all-time for career home runs at second base (246) behind Robinson Canó, and he held the single-season record until 2001. He played a major role on the champion Indians, leading the team in homers and runs batted in. H ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Spring Training
Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for the roster and position spots, and it gives established players practice time prior to competitive play. Spring training has always attracted fan attention, drawing crowds who travel to the warm climates (MLB goes to Arizona and Florida while the KBO, NPB, and CPBL go to Okinawa, Kyushu, Australia, and Taiwan) to enjoy the weather and watch their favorite teams play. In modern MLB training, teams that train in Florida will play other Florida-training teams in their exhibition games, regardless of regular-season league affiliations. Likewise, Arizona-training teams will play other Arizona teams. This arrangement commenced long before either state received MLB franchises of their own, and th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Omaha Royals
Omaha ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 41st-most-populous city, Omaha had a population of 486,051 at the 2020 census. The eight-county Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area, which extends into Iowa, has approximately 1 million residents and is the 55th-largest metro area in the United States. Omaha is the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha's pioneer period began in 1854, when the city was founded by speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa. The city was founded along the Missouri River, and a crossing called Lone Tree Ferry earned the city its nickname, the "Gateway to the West". Omaha introduced this new West to the world in 1898, when it played host to the World's Fair, dubbed the Trans-Mississippi Exposition. During the 19th century, Omaha's central location in the United States spurred the city ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Triple-A (baseball)
Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two sports league, leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). There are 30 teams, one per Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise, with 20 in the IL and 10 in the PCL. Triple-A teams are generally located in smaller to mid-size cities which do not have sports teams of the “Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, Big Four” leagues, such as Syracuse, New York, Syracuse, Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, Reno, Nevada, Reno and Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha, as well as larger metropolitan areas without MLB teams that also have a team in another major professional league, such as Austin, Texas, Austin, Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville, Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, and Indianapolis. Four Triple-A teams play in the same metro areas as their parent clubs.Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jacksonville Suns
The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team plays their home games at VyStar Ballpark, which opened in 2003. They previously played at Sam W. Wolfson Baseball Park from 1962 until the end of the 2002 season. A team known as the Jacksonville Suns competed in the Triple-A International League from 1962 to 1968. The franchise was relocated to Norfolk, Virginia, as the Tidewater Tides in 1969. After one season without professional baseball, a different Suns team came to the city in 1970 as members of the Double-A Southern League (SL). From 1985 to 1990, the team was known as the Jacksonville Expos during an affiliation with the Montreal Expos, but they returned to the Suns moniker in 1991. The club rebranded as the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp before the 2017 season. In conjunction with ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Midwest League
The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The Midwest League began as the Illinois State League (1947–1948) and then became the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League (1949–1955). In 1956, the Mississippi–Ohio Valley League was renamed the Midwest League. The circuit temporarily operated for the 2021 season as the High-A Central before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. The Lansing Lugnuts and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers franchises jointly have won the most Midwest League championships, with nine each. History The Midwest League directly evolved from two earlier leagues in the region. In 1947, the Class D Illinois State League (ISL) began operation with six Illinois teams: the Belleville Stags, Centralia Cubs, Marion Indians, Mattoon India ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |