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Juan Francisco
Juan Ramón Francisco González (born June 24, 1987) is a Dominican professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue Jays. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants. Professional career Cincinnati Reds Francisco spent his first professional season, with the Gulf Coast League Reds. He batted .280 in 182 at-bats with three home runs, and enjoyed a nine-game call up at the season's end to the rookie–level Billings Mustangs, where he went 12-for-36 (.333). Francisco spent 2007 with the single-A Dayton Dragons. He hit .268 in 534 at-bats, slugging 25 home runs and driving in 90. Juan was a Midwest League mid-season All-Star and post-season All-Star for the Dragons. Promoted again in 2008, this time to the High–A Sarasota Reds, he again spent the entire season with the same team. In 516 at-bats, he hit .277 with 23 homers and 92 RBI. Franci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majority of plays made at that base. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the first baseman is assigned the number 3. Also called first sacker or cornerman, the first baseman is ideally a tall player who throws left-handed and possesses good flexibility and quick reflexes. Flexibility is needed because the first baseman receives throws from the other infielders, the catcher and the pitcher after they have fielded ground balls. In order for the runner to be called out, the first baseman must be able to ''stretch'' towards the throw and catch it before the runner reaches first base. First base is often referred to as "the other hot corner"—the "hot corner" being third baseman, third base—and therefore, like the third baseman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulf Coast League Reds
A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of salt water that are enclosed by the coastline. Many gulfs are major shipping areas, such as the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Finland, and Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. .... See also * References External links * {{Geography-stub Bodies of water Coastal and oceanic landforms Coastal geography Oceanographical terminology ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carolina Mudcats
The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games at Five County Stadium. "Mudcats" is a Southern synonym for catfish. The team began play in 1991 after the Columbus Mudcats relocated from Columbus, Georgia. They were members of the Double-A (baseball), Double-A Southern League (1964–present), Southern League through 2011. The Mudcats were replaced by a Class A-Advanced team of the Carolina League in 2012. This team carried on as an extension of the previous club. In conjunction with Major League Baseball's reorganization of Minor League Baseball in 2021, the Mudcats were dropped to the Low-A classification and placed in the Low-A East, which became the Single-A Carolina League in 2022. Following the 2025 season, the team plans to relocate to nearby Wilson, North Carolina, as the Wilso ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Switch-hitter
In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers, although there are some exceptions. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better against left-handed pitchers and ''vice versa''. Most curveballs break away from batters hitting from the same side as the opposing pitcher, making them harder to hit with the barrel (or " sweet spot") of the bat. Additionally, the pitcher's release is further from the batter's center of vision. In the words of Pat Venditte, one of the few ambidextrous pitchers in major-league history, "If I'm pitching right-handed and they're hitting right-handed, it's tougher for them to see. And then, your breaking pitches are going away from their barrel rather than into their barrel." Even so, many switch-hitters perform better from one side of the plate than the other. Numerous switch-hitters have achieved a higher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rule 5 Draft
The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other organizations would be willing to have them play in the major leagues. The Rule 5 draft is named for its place in '' The Official Professional Baseball Rules Book''. The Rule 4 draft—more widely known as the "first-year player draft", "amateur draft", or simply the " MLB draft"—is a distinctly different process by which teams select high school and college players, and takes place annually in July. The Rule 5 draft has happened every year since 1920. The 2021 MLB lockout led to the postponement of the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft, but the minor league phase proceeded as scheduled. History MLB player transactions are governed by '' The Official Professional Baseball Rules Book'', within which, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
40-man Roster
A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and an expanded roster encompassing the active roster plus additional reserve players. Beginning with the , the active roster size is 26 players, and the expanded roster size is 40 players (the expanded roster is commonly referred to as the "40-man roster"). Historically, the active roster size was 25 players, with exceptions made in some seasons, most recently in 2020 when teams could have 28 active players. Active roster Since 1910, when teams were first allowed to carry players under contract in excess of those allowed to participate in regular season games, the latter has been called the "active roster." With exceptions through the years for varying economic conditions (primarily during World War I, the Great Depression, post-World War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dominican Winter Baseball League
The Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League ( or LIDOM) is a professional baseball winter league consisting of six teams spread across the Dominican Republic; it is the highest level of professional baseball played in the Dominican Republic. The league's players include many prospects that go on to play Major League Baseball in the United States while also signing many current MLB veterans. The champion of LIDOM advances to play in the yearly Caribbean Series. Each team plays a fifty-game round-robin schedule that begins in mid October and runs to the end of December. The top four teams engage in another round-robin schedule with 18 games per team from the end of December to the end of January; the top two teams in those standings then play a best-of-nine series for the national title. The league's champion advances to the Caribbean Series to play against the representatives from Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Puerto Rico. History For his close involvement in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gigantes Del Cibao
The Gigantes del Cibao (English language, English: Cibao Giants) are a baseball team that plays in the Dominican Winter League. The team was founded in 1996 as ''Gigantes del Noroeste ''then with a change of ownership the name was changed several times, being called Pollos del Cibao, and Pollos Baseball Club. History At the start of the professional Dominican Republic baseball season in 1995, the League of Professional Baseball reported that for the 1996 season it planned to create another franchise to expand the league, to that date there were only five teams: Tigres del Licey, Águilas Cibaeñas, Aguilas Cibaeñas, Leones del Escogido, Estrellas Orientales and Toros del Este. Thus, a group led by former baseball major league player Julián Javier, who had arranged for the appointment or purchase of the franchise, accompanied by José Aníbal García, Ysócrates Peña, Abraham Abukarma who formed a committee, this committee met with Siquió NG de la Rosa getting the necessar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All-Star Futures Game
The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League-affiliated prospects. From the inaugural 1999 event through 2018, teams of prospects from the United States faced off against teams of prospects from other countries. Origins The Futures Game was conceived by Jimmie Lee Solomon, an Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations for Major League Baseball, looking for an event to showcase the minor leagues and round out the All-Star week festivities. Early versions of the game created marginal interest in the baseball community, but the event has attracted more attention in later years. Format Rosters are selected by a joint committee consisting of people from Major League Baseball, MLB.com, and ''Baseball America'' magazine. All 30 MLB organizations are represented, with up t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Florida State League
The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. 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 Southeast before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. Each league member is affiliated with a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and most play in their affiliate's spring training facility. History The league originated in 1919 with teams in Bartow, Bradenton, Lakeland, Orlando, Sanford, and Tampa, Florida. The league closed down in 1928 and resumed play in 1936. It has continued uninterrupted, except for a four-year (1942–1945) suspension during World War II. Initially, the FSL was classified as a Class D circuit, roughly equivalent to a Rookie-level league today. It was elevated to Class C from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sarasota Reds
The Sarasota Reds were a professional minor league baseball team, located in Sarasota, Florida, as a member of the Florida State League. The team originally started play in Sarasota as the Sarasota White Sox in 1989. They remained in the city for the next 21 seasons, going through a series of name changes due to their affiliation changes. They were known as the White Sox from 1989–1993, as the Sarasota Red Sox from 1994–2004, and the Reds from 2004–2009. In Sarasota, the team played in Payne Park (1989) and then Ed Smith Stadium (1990–2009). They won two division championships, in 1989 and 1992, and made playoff appearances in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994, and 2007. The roots of the Reds, however, can be traced back even further to the Tampa Tarpons. In the 1980s, rumors arose that a major league team would come to Tampa, which would threaten the viability of the Tarpons and other minor league teams in the Tampa Bay Area. In 1988, the Chicago White Sox replaced Cincinnati as t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
