Wander Franco
   HOME





Wander Franco
Wander Samuel Franco Aybar (born March 1, 2001), nicknamed "El Patron", is a Dominican professional baseball shortstop for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) and a convicted sex offender. He made his MLB debut in 2021 and was an Major League Baseball All-Star Game, All-Star in 2023. Franco has not played baseball since August 2023, when he was placed on administrative leave due to an investigation into allegations of relationships with underage girls in the Dominican Republic. Franco was charged with sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a minor in the Dominican Republic in 2024. In 2025, Franco was found guilty and received a suspended sentence of two years in prison. Professional career Minor leagues Franco was ranked as one of the top international prospects in the 2017 international class. He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays organization on July 2, 2017, for a signing bonus of $3.85 million. Franco made his professional debut in 2018 with the Pri ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based in Florida, alongside the National League (baseball), National League (NL)’s Miami Marlins. The team plays its home games at Tropicana Field; for the 2025 season, the team's home ballpark is George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida, due to damage to Tropicana Field caused by Hurricane Milton. Following nearly three decades of unsuccessfully trying to gain an Expansion team, expansion franchise or enticing existing teams to relocation of professional sports teams, relocate to the Tampa Bay area, an ownership group led by Vince Naimoli was approved on March 9, 1995. The team began play as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 1998 Major League Baseball season. The team's first decade of play was marked by futility; t ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Home Run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error (baseball), errors being committed by the Defense (sports), 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 Baseball field, 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 (baseball), hit, a Run (baseball), run scored, and a run batted in (RBI), as well as an RBI for each Base running, runner on base. The pitcher is recorded as having given u ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice. It is also known for its annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, swimsuit issue, which has been published since 1964, and has spawned other complementary media works and products. Owned until 2018 by Time Inc., it was sold to Authentic Brands Group (ABG) following the sale of Time Inc. to Meredith Corporation. The Arena Group (formerly theMaven, Inc.) was subsequently awarded a 10-year license to operate the ''Sports Illustrated''–branded editorial operations, while ABG Brand licensing, licenses the brand for other non-editorial ventures and products. In January 2024, The Arena Group missed a quarterly licensing payment, leading ABG to terminate the company's license. Arena, in turn, laid off the publication's editorial staff ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


Eduardo Rodríguez (left-handed Pitcher)
Eduardo José Rodríguez Hernández (born April 7, 1993), nicknamed "E-Rod", is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers. Rodríguez signed as an international free agent with the Baltimore Orioles' organization in 2010, was traded to the Red Sox during the 2014 season, and made his MLB debut in May 2015. With the Red Sox, he was a member of the 2018 World Series champions. Rodríguez signed with the Tigers as a free agent before the 2022 season. Following the 2023 season, he signed a four-year deal with the Diamondbacks. Career Baltimore Orioles Rodríguez signed with the Baltimore Orioles as an international free agent in January 2010, receiving a $175,000 signing bonus. He made his professional debut that season with the Dominican Summer Orioles of the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League. He had a 3–4 win–loss record and a 2.33 ear ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the team's home baseball park, ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox" name was chosen by the team owner, John I. Taylor, , following the lead of previous teams that had been known as the "Boston Red Stockings", including the Boston Braves (now the Atlanta Braves). The team has won nine World Series championships, tied for the List of World Series champions, third-most of any MLB team, and has played in thirteen World Series. Their most recent World Series appearance and win was in 2018. In addition, they won the American League pennant (sports), pennant, but were not able to defend their 1903 World Series championship when the History of the New York Giants (baseball), New York Giants ref ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Durham Bulls
The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in 1995. Established as the Durham Tobacconists in the North Carolina League in 1902, the team subsequently disbanded and restarted numerous times. After a 10-year hiatus, it was reestablished as the Durham Bulls and played in the North Carolina State League from 1913 to 1917. The Bulls were members of the Piedmont League from 1920 to 1933 and for a second time from 1936 to 1943. Durham competed in the Carolina League from 1945 to 1971. For the latter part of this stretch, they merged with a team from Raleigh, becoming the Raleigh-Durham Mets (1968), Raleigh-Durham Phillies (1969), and Raleigh-Durham Triangles (1970–1971). The Durham Bulls returned as members of the Carolina League in 1980. They were replaced by an International Leag ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

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]  


Leones Del Escogido
Leones del Escogido (English: ''Chosen One Lions'' or ''Lions of Chosen One'' or ''Picked Lions'') is a professional baseball team in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Established in , Leones are the third most successful team in the Dominican Professional Baseball League, behind Tigres del Licey and Aguilas Cibaeñas, having won 17 national championships and 5 Caribbean Series. Of the championships, 17 are of the Liga Dominicana de Béisbol (LIDOM) Winter League. History The ''Leones record book is dominated by the Alou brothers: Matty, Felipe, and Jesús. The brothers hold the first, second, and third spots in the team's record book for the following: games played, runs, at bats, hits, home runs and RBIs. Matty and Felipe are one-two in several more categories, including walks and stolen bases. Felipe Alou is also the most successful manager, winning four championships. 2009–10 season The Leones enjoyed a very successful first year with new ownership. They won ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

Dominican Professional 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]  


picture info

COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon after, it spread to other areas of Asia, and COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory, then worldwide in early 2020. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) on 30 January 2020, and assessed the outbreak as having become a pandemic on 11 March. COVID-19 symptoms range from asymptomatic to deadly, but most commonly include fever, sore throat, nocturnal cough, and fatigue. Transmission of COVID-19, Transmission of the virus is often airborne transmission, through airborne particles. Mutations have variants of SARS-CoV-2, produced many strains (variants) with varying degrees of infectivity and virulence. COVID-19 vaccines were developed rapidly and deplo ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]  


picture info

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]  


Charlotte Stone Crabs
The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) team. They played their home games at Charlotte Sports Park and were named for the Florida stone crab, which is indigenous to the Charlotte County region. The Stone Crabs arrived in Port Charlotte in 2009 after the Vero Beach Devil Rays were purchased by Ripken Baseball and relocated from Vero Beach, Florida. They played 11 seasons in Port Charlotte. The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the cancelled season, the Stone Crabs were dropped as a Rays affiliate and not invited to join another organization as a part of MLB's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. History On August 25, 2008, it was announced that the Vero Beach Devil Rays, the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play ...
[...More Info...]      
[...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]