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Roy Oswalt
Roy Edward Oswalt (; born August 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Oswalt played for the majority of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Houston Astros. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Rangers, and Colorado Rockies. Oswalt was selected by the Astros in the 1996 MLB draft. He made his MLB debut with Houston, in 2001, finishing his rookie season with a win–loss record of 14–3. Oswalt was a back-to-back 20-game winner in 2004 and 2005. He helped lead the Astros to their first World Series appearance in 2005, and was named Most Valuable Player of the 2005 National League Championship Series (NLCS). When Oswalt left the Astros in 2010, both his wins (143) and strikeouts totals (1,593) ranked second in franchise history to Joe Niekro (144) and Nolan Ryan (1,866), respectively. Oswalt was a three-time All-Star, selected from 2005 to 2007. Early life Oswalt was born and raised in Weir, Mississippi, the son of Billy Jo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a base on balls, walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum. There are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, left-handed specialist, lefty specialist, setup man, and the closing pitcher, closer. Traditionally, the pitcher also bats. Starting in 1973 with the American League and spreading to further leagues throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the hitting duties of the pitcher have generally been given over t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball At The Summer Olympics
Baseball at the Summer Olympics unofficially debuted at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, and was first contested as a demonstration sport at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. It became an official Olympic sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, then was played at each Olympiad through the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The sport was then dropped from the Summer Olympic program, until being revived for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo for a single appearance. It is next expected to be part of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Olympic baseball is governed by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). History Although little was recorded, Olympic baseball first appeared at the 1900 Paris Games. Twelve years later, in 1912, in Stockholm, a United States team played against host Sweden, winning 13–3. An exhibition baseball game was also played at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. In 1936, in Berlin, two United States teams played each other befor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2005 National League Championship Series
The 2005 National League Championship Series (NLCS), the second round of the National League (baseball), National League side in Major League Baseball’s 2005 Major League Baseball postseason, 2005 postseason. It matched the Central Division champion and defending league champion 2005 St. Louis Cardinals season, St. Louis Cardinals - the postseason’s overall top seed, against the wild card qualifier 2005 Houston Astros season, Houston Astros in a rematch of the 2004 National League Championship Series, 2004 NLCS. The Cardinals, by virtue of having the best record in Major League Baseball during the 2005 season, had the home-field advantage. The Astros won the series four games to two, and became the National League champions; they faced the 2005 American League Championship Series, American League champion Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series, where the Astros lost to the White Sox in a sweep in four games. The Cardinals and Astros were victorious in the 2005 National Lea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Most Valuable Player
In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or on a specific team. The purpose of the award is to recognize the contribution of the individual's efforts amongst a group effort, and to highlight the excellence, exemplariness, and/or outstandingness of a player's performance amidst the performance of their peers in question. The term can have different connotations depending on the context in which it is used. A 'League MVP' is the most valuable player in an entire league, and refers to the player whose performance is most excellent in the league. Similarly, a "Team MVP" is the most valuable player on a team, referring to the player whose team contribution is greatest amongst their teammates. In many sports, MVP awards are presented for a specific match—in other words, a player of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2005 World Series
The 2005 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2005 season. The 101st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Chicago White Sox and the National League (NL) champion Houston Astros. The White Sox swept the Astros in four games, winning their third World Series championship and their first in 88 years. The series was played between October 22–26, 2005. Home field advantage was awarded to Chicago by virtue of the AL's 7–5 victory over the NL in the 2005 MLB All-Star Game. The Astros were attempting to become the fourth consecutive wild card team to win the Series, following the Anaheim Angels (2002), Florida Marlins (2003) and Boston Red Sox (2004). Both teams were attempting to overcome decades of disappointment, with a combined 132 years between the two teams without a title. The Astros were making their first Series appearance in 44 years of play, while the White Sox had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best-of-seven playoff (except in 1903 and from 1919–1921, when a best-of-nine format was used), is awarded the Commissioner's Trophy. The series is traditionally played in October, although before expansion of the regular-season schedule from 154 to 162 games the event occasionally started in late September (most recently in ) and the entire series took place early in that month due to the World War I "Work or Fight" order forcing an early end to that year's regular season, while some more recent editions have been contested into November due to in-season delays and expansion of earlier postseason rounds. Because the series is played in the fall or autumn season in North America, it is often referred to as the Fall Classic. Before the A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2005 Houston Astros Season
The 2005 Houston Astros season was the 44th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 41st as the Astros, 44th in the National League (NL), 12th in the NL Central division, and sixth at Minute Maid Park. They entered the season as having finished as the NL wild card qualifier via a 92–70 record and second place in the NL Central, reached the 2004 National League Championship Series (NLCS) for the third NLCS appearance in franchise history, but were defeated by the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games. With expectations of a deeper postseason run in 2005, Houston initially underperformed, starting at 15–30. However, they won 74 of the final 117 games ( winning percentage) to rally to an 89–73 overall record and second-place finish in the NL Central. Thus, the Astros claimed both a second consecutive NL wild card title and postseason berth, their sixth playoff appearance in a span of nine seasons. The ninth postseason appearance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2004 Houston Astros Season
The 2004 Houston Astros season was the 43rd season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 40th as the Astros, 43rd in the National League (NL), 11th in the NL Central division, and fifth at Minute Maid Park. The Astros entered the season with a 87–75 record and second-place finish in the NL Central, having missed the playoffs by one game. The Astros hosted the MLB All-Star Game at Minute Maid Park, which was the first held in Houston since 1986. Outfielders Carlos Beltrán and Lance Berkman, second baseman Jeff Kent, and pitcher Roger Clemens each represented the Astros as All-Stars, and Clemens was selected as the starting poitcher for the National League. Having limped into the All-Star break with a 44–44 record, Phil Garner was named to replace Jimy Williams as manager. On September 18, Jeff Bagwell scored both the 1,500th run and run batted in (RBI) of his career to become the 29th major leaguer and first Astro to reach bot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2001 Houston Astros Season
The 2001 Houston Astros season was the 40th season for the Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located in Houston, Texas, their 37th as the Astros, 40th in the National League (NL), eighth in the NL Central division, and second at Enron Field, later christened as Minute Maid Park. The Astros entered the season with a 72–90 record and fourth place finish after having ended the previous three seasons (1997–99) as NL Central division champions. Outfielders Moisés Alou (fourth selection) and Lance Berkman (first), and pitcher Billy Wagner (second) each represented the Astros and played for the National League at the MLB All-Star Game. For the fourth time in five seasons, the Astros won the NL Central title, having won 93 games. Though tied for the same W–L record with the St. Louis Cardinals, the Astros retained the tiebreaker by virtue of defeating them in the final game of the year on October 7 to win the season series, 9–7. In the finale, Shane Reynolds bec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball-Reference
Baseball Reference is a baseball statistics database maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for Major League Baseball (MLB) players and teams as well as records, MLB draft history, and sabermetrics. History Founder Sean Forman began developing the website while working on his Ph.D. dissertation in applied math and computational science at the University of Iowa. While writing his dissertation, he had also been writing articles on and blogging about sabermetrics. Forman's database was originally built from the '' Total Baseball'' series of baseball encyclopedias. The website went online in April 2000, after first being launched in February 2000 as part of the website for the ''Big Bad Baseball Annual''. It was originally built as a web interface to the Lahman Baseball Database, though it now employs a variety of data sources. In 2004, Forman founded Sports Reference. Sports Reference is a website that came out of the Baseball Reference website. ... [...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] |
