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Mike Piazza
Michael Joseph Piazza ( ; born September 4, 1968) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1992 to 2007, and is a member of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. He intended to serve as the manager of the Italian national baseball team in 2020 and 2021 championships, though was unable to do so because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Piazza played most notably for the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, while also having brief stints with the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, and Oakland Athletics. A 12-time All-Star and 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner at catcher, he produced strong offensive numbers at his position; in his career, he recorded 427 home runs—a record 396 of which were hit as catcher—along with a .308 batting average and 1,335 runs batted in (RBI). Piazza was drafted by the Dodgers in the 1988 MLB draft as a favor from Tommy Lasorda to Piazza's father. He was the last player selected an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher is also called upon to master many other skills in order to field the position well. The role of the catcher is similar to that of the wicket-keeper in cricket. Positioned behind home plate and facing toward the outfield, the catcher can see the whole field, and is therefore in the best position to direct and lead the other players in a defensive play. The catcher typically calls for pitches using PitchCom, or hand signals. The calls are based on the pitcher's mechanics and strengths, as well as the batter's tendencies and weaknesses. Essentially, the catcher controls what happens during the game when the ball is not "in play". Foul tips, bouncing balls in the dirt, and contact with runners during plays at the plate are all events ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silver Slugger Award
The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best Batting (baseball), offensive player at each Baseball positions, position in both the American League (AL) and the National League (baseball), National League (NL), as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball (MLB). These voters consider several offensive statistics, including batting average (baseball), batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage, as well as their "general impressions of a player's overall offensive value". They are not permitted to vote for players on their team. The award is a bat-shaped trophy, three feet (91 cm) tall, engraved with the names of each of the winners from the league and plated with sterling silver. It is given by Hillerich & Bradsby, the manufacturer of Louisville Slugger bats. Ten Silver Slugger Awards are given each year per league individually. One each goes to a catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, and shor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Runs Batted In
A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the batter bats a base hit which allows a teammate on a higher base to reach home and so score a run, then the batter gets credited with an RBI. Before the 1920 Major League Baseball season, runs batted in were not an official baseball statistic. Nevertheless, the RBI statistic was tabulated—unofficially—from 1907 through 1919 by baseball writer Ernie Lanigan, according to the Society for American Baseball Research. Common nicknames for an RBI include "ribby" (or "ribbie"), "rib", and "ribeye". The plural of "RBI" is a matter of "(very) minor controversy" for baseball fans:; it is usually "RBIs", in accordance with the usual practice for pluralizing initialisms in English; however, some sources use "RBI" as the plural, on the basis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Home Runs
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is usually achieved by hitting the ball over the outfield fence between the foul poles (or hitting either foul pole) without the ball touching the field. Inside-the-park home runs where the batter reaches home safely while the baseball is in play on the field are infrequent. In very rare cases, a fielder attempting to catch a ball in flight may misplay it and knock it over the outfield fence, resulting in a home run. An official scorer will credit the batter with a hit, a run scored, and a run batted in (RBI), as well as an RBI for each runner on base. The pitcher is recorded as having given up a hit and a run, with additional runs charged for each base-runner that scores. Home runs are among the most popular aspects of baseball ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
COVID-19 Pandemic In Europe
The global COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Europe with its first confirmed case in Bordeaux, France, on 24 January 2020, and subsequently spread widely across the continent. By 17 March 2020, every country in Europe had confirmed a case, and all have reported at least one death, with the exception of Vatican City. Italy was the first European country to experience a major outbreak in early 2020, becoming the first country worldwide to introduce a national lockdown. By 13 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Europe the epicentre of the pandemic and it remained so until the WHO announced it was overtaken by South America on 22 May. By 18 March 2020, lockdowns introduced in Europe affected more than 250 million people. Despite deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, Europe became the pandemic's epicentre once again in late 2021. On 11 January 2022, Dr. Hans Kluge, the WHO Regional Director for Europe said, "more than 50 percent of the population in the region wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Baseball Hall Of Fame And Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United States displaying baseball-related artifacts and exhibits, honoring those who have excelled in baseball positions, playing, manager (baseball), managing, and serving the sport. The Hall's motto is "Preserving History, Honoring Excellence, Connecting Generations". Cooperstown is often used as shorthand (or a Metonymy, metonym) for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The museum also established and manages the process for honorees into the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was established in 1939 by Stephen Carlton Clark, an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine Company, Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Clark sought to bring tourists to the village hurt by the Great Depression, which reduced the local tourist trade, and Prohibition in the U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada and is considered the premier professional baseball league in the world. Each team plays 162 games per season, with Opening Day traditionally held during the first week of April. Six teams in each league then advance to a four-round Major League Baseball postseason, postseason tournament in October, culminating in the World Series, a best-of-seven championship series between the two league champions first played in 1903. MLB is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan. Formed in 1876 and 1901, respectively, the NL and AL cemented their cooperation with the National Agreement in 1903, making MLB the oldest major professional sports league in the world. They remained le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catcher
Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher is also called upon to master many other skills in order to field the position well. The role of the catcher is similar to that of the wicket-keeper in cricket. Positioned behind home plate and facing toward the outfield, the catcher can see the whole field, and is therefore in the best position to direct and lead the other players in a defensive play. The catcher typically calls for pitches using PitchCom, or hand signals. The calls are based on the pitcher's mechanics and strengths, as well as the batter's tendencies and weaknesses. Essentially, the catcher controls what happens during the game when the ball is not "in play". Foul tips, bouncing balls in the dirt, and contact with runners during plays at the plate are all events ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch (baseball), plays, with each play beginning when a player on the fielding team (baseball), fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a Baseball (ball), ball that a player on the batting team (baseball), batting team, called the Batter (baseball), batter, tries to hit with a baseball bat, bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the Base (baseball), bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "Run (baseball), runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming Base running, runners, and to prevent runners base running ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italy National Baseball Team
The Italy national baseball team represents Italy in international baseball competitions. The Italian national team was ranked WBSC World Rankings, 16th in the world as of 2022. Like the country's Italy national football team, association football team and other national teams, the national baseball team is known as the ''Azzurri'' ("the Blues"), and wears traditional Savoy blue on its uniforms. History Debut and European competition The Italian national team played its first international in a friendly against Spain national baseball team, Spain on August 31, 1952 in Rome; American actor Gregory Peck, in Rome for the filming of the movie Roman Holiday, was in attendance. Italy debuted at the 1954 European Baseball Championship, inaugural European Baseball Championship in , which it won. Its early dominance in the competition was short-lived after the debut of the Netherlands national baseball team, Netherlands in 1956, which would caused a heated rivalry. Italian ace Giulio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2021 European Baseball Championship
The 2021 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by the Confederation of European Baseball. The 2021 Championship was held September 12–19, 2021, in Turin, Italy. Qualification The 12 teams of the 2019 European Baseball Championship, 2019 European Championship qualified automatically for the tournament. Four additional teams, Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, and Greece, qualified from the 17-team B-Pool tournament. Group stage Group A ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- Group C ---- ---- Group D ---- ---- Play-offs Quarter-finals Semi-finals Bronze-medal Final Placement round 5th–8th place Classification games 7th place 5th place Relegation rounds Relegation round 9–12th places classification 11th place 9th place 13–16th places classification 15th place 13th place Final standings Statistics leaders Batting * Minimum 2.7 plate appearances ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
