Major League Baseball ToDay

In 1970, little known George “Sparky” Anderson was hired as manager, and the Reds embarked upon a decade of excellence, with a team that came to be known as “The Big Red Machine”. Playing at Crosley Field until June 30, 1970, when the Reds moved into brand-new Riverfront Stadium, a 52,000 seat multi-purpose venue on the shores of the Ohio River, the Reds began the 1970s with a bang by winning 70 of their first 100 games. Johnny Bench, Tony Pérez, Pete Rose, Lee May and Bobby Tolan were the early Red Machine offensive leaders; Gary Nolan, Jim Merritt Jim Maloney and Jim McGlothlin led a pitching staff which also contained veterans Tony Cloninger and Clay Carroll and youngsters Wayne Simpson and Don Gullett. The Reds breezed through the 1970 season, winning the NL West and captured the NL pennant by sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates in three games. By time the club got to the World Series, however, the Reds pitching staff had run out of gas and the veteran Baltimore Orioles beat the Reds in five games.

After the disastrous 1971 season (the only season of the ’70s during which the Reds finished with a losing record) the Reds reloaded by trading veterans Jimmy Stewert, May, and Tommy Helms for Joe Morgan, César Gerónimo, Jack Billingham, Ed Armbrister, and Denis Menke. Meanwhile, Dave Concepción blossomed at shortstop. 1971 was also the year a key component of the future world championships was acquired in George Foster from the San Francisco Giants in a trade for shortstop Frank Duffy.

The 1972 Reds won the NL West in a baseball first ever strike-shortened season and defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates in an exciting five-game playoff series–that fifth game in Cincinnati was the last major league game Pittsburgh’s great Roberto Clemente ever played–then faced the Oakland Athletics in the World Series. Six of the seven games were won by one run. With powerful slugger Reggie Jackson sidelined due to an injury incurred during Oakland’s playoff series against Detroit, Ohio native Gene Tenace got a chance to play in the series for manager Dick Williams, delivering four home runs that tied the World Series record for homers, propelling Oakland to a dramatic seventh game series win. This was the first World Series in which no starting pitcher for either side pitched a complete game. The Reds won a third NL West crown in 1973 after a dramatic second half comeback, that saw them make up 10½ games on the Los Angeles Dodgers after the All-Star break. However they lost the NL pennant to the New York Mets in five games. In game one, Tom Seaver faced Jack Billingham in a classic pitching duo, with all three runs of the 2-1 margin being scored on home runs. John Milner provided New York’s run off Billingham, while Pete Rose tied the game in the seventh inning off Seaver, setting the stage for a dramatic game ending home run by Johnny Bench in the bottom of the ninth inning. The New York series provided plenty of controversy with the riotious behavior of Shea Stadium fans towards Pete Rose when he and Bud Harrelson scuffled after a hard slide by Rose into Harrelson at second base during the fifth inning of Game 3. A full bench-clearing fight resulted after New York’s Wayne Garrett came over from third base to take cheap shots at Rose. The resulting on-field tension led to two separate incidents in which play was stopped. The Reds trailed 9-3 and New York’s manager, Yogi Berra, and legendary outfielder Willie Mays at the request of National League president Warren Giles appealed to fans in left field to restrain themselves. The next day the series was extended to a fifth game when Rose homered in the 12th inning to tie the series at two games each. The Reds won 98 games in 1974 but they finished second to the 102-win Los Angeles Dodgers and MVP Steve Garvey.

The 1974 season started off with much excitement, as the Atlanta Braves were in town to open the season with the Reds. Fans were sporting their Cincinnati Reds Merchandise to the game. Hank Aaron entered opening day with 713 homeruns, one shy of tying Babe Ruth’s record of 714. On a three ball one strike count, the first pitch Aaron swung at in the 74 season was the record tying homerun off Jack Billingham. The next day the Braves benched Aaron, hoping to save him for his record breaking homerun on their season opening homestand. The commissioner of baseball, Bowie Kuhn, ordered Braves management to play Aaron the next day, where he narrowly missed the historic home run in the fifth inning. Aaron went on to set the recond in Atlanta two nights later off Al Downing and the Los Angeles Dodgers. 1974 also was the debut of Hall of Fame radio announcer Marty Brennaman, who replaced Al Michaels, after Michaels left the Reds to broadcast for the San Francisco Giants.

With 1975, the Big Red Machine lineup solidified with the starting team of Johnny Bench (c), Tony Perez (1b), Joe Morgan (2b), Dave Concepcion (ss), Pete Rose (3b), Ken Griffey (rf), César Gerónimo (cf), and George Foster (lf). The starting pitchers included Don Gullett, Fred Norman, Gary Nolan, Jack Billingham, Pat Darcy, and Clay Kirby. However, it was the bullpen that was the key to the Reds’ pitching (and Anderson’s reputation as “Captain Hook”) with Rawly Eastwick and Will McEnaney as the key closers with a combined 37 saves. Pedro Borbon and Clay Carroll filled in as stretchers between the starters and the finishers. However, this was not the lineup on Opening Day. At that time, Rose still played in left field, Foster was not a starter, while John Vuckovich, an off-season acquisition from the Milwaukee Brewers was the starting third baseman, replacing Dan Driessen, who was a decent hitter, but whose defensive skills were considered a weakness. While Vuckovich was a superb defensive shortstop, he was a weak hitter. In May, with the team off to a slow start and trailing the Dodgers, Sparky Anderson made a bold move by moving Rose to third base (a position where he had very little experience) and inserting Foster in left field to bat cleanup. This was the jolt that the Reds needed to propel them into first place, with Rose proving to be reliable on defense, while adding Foster to the outfield gave the offense some added punch. During the season, the Reds compiled two notable streaks: (1) by winning 41 out of 50 games in one stretch, and (2) by going a month without committing any errors on defense.

In the 1975 season, Cincinnati clinched the NL West with 108 victories, then swept the Pittsburgh Pirates in three games to win the NL pennant. In the World Series, the Boston Red Sox were the opponents. After splitting the first four games, the Reds took Game 5. After a three-day rain delay, the two teams met in Game 6, one of the most memorable baseball games ever played and considered by many to be the best World Series game ever. The Reds were ahead 6-3 with 5 outs left, when the Red Sox tied the game on former Red Bernie Carbo’s three-run home run. It was Carbo’s second pinch-hit three-run homer in the series. After a few close-calls either way, Carlton Fisk hit a dramatic 12th inning home run off the foul pole in left field (which is considered to be one of the greatest TV sports moments of all time) to give the Red Sox a 7-6 win and force a deciding Game 7. Cincinnati prevailed the next day when Morgan’s RBI single won Game 7 and gave the Reds their first championship in 35 years.

1976 saw a return of the same starting eight in the field. The starting rotation was led by Gary Nolan. The remaining starters, Don Gullet, Jack Billingham, Pat Zachary, Santo Alcola, and Fred Norman comprised an underrated staff in which four of the six had ERAs below 3.10. Rawley Eastwick, Pedro Borbon, and Will McEnany shared closer duties, recording 26, 8, and 7 saves respectively.

In 1976, the Reds won the NL West by ten games. They went undefeated in the postseason, sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies (winning Game 3 in their final at-bat) to return to the World Series. They continued to dominate by sweeping the Yankees in the newly renovated Yankee Stadium, the first World Series games played in Yankee Stadium since 1964. This was only the second ever sweep of the proud Yankees in the World Series. In winning the Series, the Reds became the first NL team since the 1921-22 New York Giants to win back-to-back World Series championships.

The Chicago White Sox baseball team began as the Sioux City Cornhuskers in a minor league called the Western League. The Western League had reorganized itself in November 1893, with Ban Johnson as President. Johnson, a Cincinnati-based reporter, had been recommended by his friend Charles Comiskey, former major league star with the St. Louis Browns in the 1880s, who was then managing the Cincinnati Reds. After the 1894 season, when Comiskey’s contract with the Reds was up, he decided to take his chances at ownership. He bought the Sioux City team and transferred it to St. Paul, where it enjoyed some success over the next five seasons.

In 1900, the Western League changed its name to the American League. It was still officially a minor league, subject to the governing National Agreement and an underling of the National League. The NL actually gave permission to the AL to put a team in Chicago, and Comiskey moved his St. Paul club to Chicago’s South Side. After the season, the AL declined to renew its membership in the National Agreement, and the war was on.

The club originally called itself the “White Stockings,” the original name of the National League’s Chicago Cubs. Incidentally, the White Stockings won the first AL pennant in 1900, albeit still officially as a minor league team. After acquiring a number of stars from the older league, including pitcher and manager Clark Griffith, the White Stockings also captured the AL’s first major-league pennant the next year, in 1901. Headline editors at the Chicago Tribune sports department immediately began shortening the name to “White Sox,” and the team officially adopted the shorter name in 1903. The name change to the White Sox was brought on after scorekeeper Christoph Hynes wrote White Sox at the top of a scorecard rather than White Stockings, this scorecard was then seen by the press. The White Sox would continue to be built on pitching and defense in the following years, led by pitching workhorse Ed Walsh, who routinely pitched over 400 innings each season in his prime.

In November 2003, the White Sox hired former team shortstop Ozzie Guillén as manager. The next year, general manager Ken Williams vowed to change the makeup of the team from one that relies on the home run to one that has good pitching and defense. They traded outfielder Carlos Lee for center fielder Scott Podsednik, and also signed outfielder Jermaine Dye and former Yankee pitcher Orlando Hernandez to complete a rotation that included Freddy Garcia, Mark Buehrle, Jose Contreras and Jon Garland. Garcia and Contreras had come to the Sox in deals made during the 2004 season. Additionally, former Minnesota Twin and San Francisco Giant A.J. Pierzynski was signed to fill the catching spot. Finally, to complete the make-over, Williams signed Japanese second baseman Tadahito Iguchi to a contract.

The story of the 2005 World Series Champions
The changes made an immediate impact on the team. In 2005, the White Sox posted the best record in the major leagues for much of the year, before a late season slump saw the St. Louis Cardinals overtake them (100 wins vs. 99 wins). Though a serious challenge for their dominance of the division was mounted late in the year by the Cleveland Indians (the Tribe actually reduced what was once a 15 game lead for the Sox down to 1½ games at one point), Chicago scored a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers on September 29 to win their first AL Central Division title since 2000. Finishing at 99-63 (.611) tied their 1983 record, and won the division by six games. The last time they had a higher percentage than that was 1920, when they finished second in the league thanks to the late-season “Black Sox” suspensions. The combination of the league’s best record with the American League victory in the All-Star Game gave the White Sox the home field advantage throughout the 2005 post-season (perhaps unnecessary as the White Sox won every post-season road game they played in 2005).

Among the other changes that occurred in 2005 (and still seen in 2006) was the creation of a new marketing campaign, referring to the team’s new style of play. 2005 saw a much-reduced reliance on power hitting (even though the team still hit over 200 home runs on the season), and a move toward speed and defense. This culminated in what locally became known as “Ozzieball” or “Grinderball”. As part of the marketing campaign, the White Sox began inventing “The Grinder Rules”, a list of fictitious “rules” created as a part of an advertising campaign, and a way of reminding fans about the changes to the team, and the success it was bringing. The first Grinder Rule became the team’s motto for the 2005 season: “Win or die trying!”

The rules themselves are an “incomplete” list, as the numbers are somewhat random. They are collected from print, billboard, television, and radio advertisements, as well as advertising at U.S. Cellular Field, where the White Sox play their home games. Chicago White Sox Merchandise is a hot commodity in Chicago  now.

The Chicago Cubs are a Major League Baseball team that plays in the National League.  The Cubs play at Wrigley Field in the North Side Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois.  The Chicago Cubs are just one of two teams that call Chicago their home, the other being the Chicago White Sox who play in the American League. The Cubs have played in the National League since 1876 and have played in the Central division since 1994. The Chicago Cubs are often referred to as “The Cubbies” or they’re also referred to as “The North Siders”. The Cubs are referred to as the North Siders because they play on the North Side of Chicago and the White Sox play on the South Side. Their fans are crazy about them and are stocking up on Chicago Cubs Merchandise.
The Cubs have won only two World Series titles in their existence.  They won the World Series in 1907 and in 1908.  The Chicago Cubs have had some success by winning 16 league Pennants. The Cubs won them in 1876, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1885, 1886, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1918, 1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, and 1945.  They have won one Central Division Title which was in 2003.  They have won the Eastern Division Title twice; one in 1989 and 1984.The Chicago Cubs have the longest dry spell between championships in all of professional sports.  Major League Baseball, NFL, NHL, and the NBA included.  The Chicago Cubs have not won a championship since 1908 and the Cubs have not been to the World Series since 1945.
Wrigley Field has been a home for the Chicago Cubs since 1960.  The park was originally built in 1914 for the Chicago Federal League Baseball team, the Chicago Whales. The park was also home for the Chicago Bears, a NFL team.  The Bears used the park from 1921 to 1970. Wrigley Field is located at 1060 W. Addison St. in Chicago, Illinois.  The park has been referred to as Cubs Park and Weeghman Park in the past.  Cubs fans and announcers also lovingly refer to it as “the friendly confines.”
The lovable Chicago Cubs rest their confidence in the All-Star Alfonso Soriano for the 2007 season. With power hitters like Derrek Lee and Aramis Ramirez the Cubs look to have a strong offense for the 2007 season. The offense will be back by the power pitching of Carlos Zambrano.

The Boston Red Sox are based in Boston, Massachusetts.  The team is often referred to it as “The Bosox” or the “Old Town Team”. The Red Sox compete in the American League East division. Their fans are loading up on Boston Red Sox Merchandise because of their love for this team.
The Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park, one of the oldest ballparks around.  The park broke ground on September 25, 1911 and opened it to their fans in April of 1912. Fenway Park has been home to several sports teams.  The Boston Redskins were a NFL team that played there from 1933 to 1936, the Boston Yanks were a NFL team that played there from 1944 to 1948, a Boston Patriots was an American Football League team that played there from 1963 to 1967, and the Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball team that played their from 1914 to 1950.  The park in Boston started with a 35,000 capacity in 1912 and currently holds 38,805 fans.
In 1934 construction was done on the left field wall and eventually became known as the Green Monster. The Green Monster is a 37 feet, 2 inches high wall that is 240 feet long, and has a 22 foot deep foundation.  The wall was built from 30,000 pounds of Yoncan Iron.  The Green Wall is currently the highest wall in professional baseball and is notorious for rejecting home runs on hits that would have cleared any other ballpark.  The green wall does have a history of allowing a lot more extra-base hits.
The Boston Red Sox have won six World Series Titles. They won the World Series in 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, and in 2004.  The Red Sox have won 11 American League Pennants. They won them in 1903, 1904, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, 1946, 1967, 1975, 1986, and in 2004.  The team has also won five Eastern Division titles and five wild-card berths.
The Boston Red Sox broke the Curse of the Bambino when they defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series. The Boston Red Sox play at Fenway Park located in Boston, Massachusetts. Fenway Park is home to many famous legends like Babe Ruth, Cy Young, Jim Rice, Ted Williams, and Jimmie Foxx.

The Baltimore Orioles are a Major League Baseball team that competes in the Eastern division of the American League.  The Baltimore Orioles are often referred to as the “Birds” or the “O’s”.  The Orioles have a rich winning history dating back to 1954.
The Baltimore Orioles have won three World Series titles.  They won the World Series in 1966, 1970, in 1983.  The Orioles have won seven American League pennants.  They won their pennants in nineteen forty four, sixty six, sixty nine, seventy, seventy one, seventy nine and in ninety seven.  In nineteen ninety six they had their only wild card birth.
Peter Angelos is the Baltimore Orioles owner.  Peter made his name in American law where he became a successful trial lawyer.  Peter rounded up several investors to purchase the team in nineteen ninety three and paid $173 million for it. Peter made his name in several big cases bringing him success.  Peter represented a large number of plaintiffs in asbestos litigation and won the case profiting over $100 million.  Peter would try several other multimillion dollar cases to route his career and became a wealthy man from his success. Baltimore Orioles Merchandise is what the fans are after in Baltimore because of this.
The current manager of the Baltimore Orioles is Sam Pertozzo.  Sam was originally a bench coach for the Orioles before being promoted to head coach after the firing of Lee Mazzilli.  Sam took over a team that had the worst losing streak of the season and the team went 23- 32 after he took the team over.  Sam’s first full season with the Baltimore Orioles was in 2006 where he led the team to a 70- 92 record.  Sam also had a baseball experience playing for the San Diego Padres and the Minnesota Twins, but he was originally drafted by the Twins out of George Washington University.
The Baltimore Orioles is the home to legendary iron man, Cal Ripken. Cal Ripken is the Orioles all-time leader in several categories including home runs, hits, RBIs, and he also leads the club in double plays. Baltimore ended their season in 2006 with 70 wins and 92 losses. The Orioles play at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD.

The Atlanta Braves are a Major League Baseball team based out of Atlanta, Georgia.  The Atlanta Braves have represented Atlanta since 1966 and they compete in the Eastern division of the National League.
The Atlanta Braves monopolized baseball throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s.  The Braves became known for excitement and winning.  The Atlanta Braves won the division title a whopping 14 straight times.  The Braves have won 9 National League pennants, 16 divisional titles, and 3 World Series. The Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves are the only two teams remaining charter members in the National League. Atlanta Braves Merchandise is a hot commodity in Atlanta because of the success of the Braves.
The Atlanta Braves had many Hall of Famers play for them like Hank Aaron, Bruce Sutter, Eddie Mathews, Phil Niekro, Gaylord Perry, and Orlando Cepeda. The Atlanta Braves have retired numbers for Jackie Robinsion, Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Phil Niekro, Dale Murphy, and Warren Spahn.
The Atlanta Braves have a rich baseball history dating back to 1871.  Originally, the Atlanta Braves were called the Boston Red Stockings (1871- 1882), Boston Beaneaters from 1883- 1906, Boston Doves from 1907- 1910, Boston Rustlers in 1911, Boston Braves from 1912- 1935, Boston Bees from 1936- 1940, and the Boston Braves from 1941- 1952.
The Atlanta Braves currently play at Turner Field located in Atlanta, Georgia. The stadium was originally built to hold 85,000 fans and was used for the 1996 Summer Olympics. After the1996 Summer Olympics a lot of the North and was removed so it could be designed to hold 45,000 fans as a baseball park.  Turner Field has hosted the Atlanta Braves since 1997 after a multimillion dollar renovation took place to meet the demands of a baseball field. Turner Field adopted its name after a one-time owner by the name of Ted Turner. The money that was generated from the Olympics gave the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games the idea of giving the $200 million Stadium to Ted as a gift.
Bobby Cox is the legendary coach for the Atlanta Braves. Bobby Cox is listed third all time and 90 win seasons just behind the notorious John McGraw and Joe McCarthy. Bobby led the banged up Braves to their 14th consecutive division title in 2005. Hank Aaron is the all-time major-league leader in home runs and RBIs as well is leading the Braves all-time in runs and hits.

The Arizona Diamondbacks are a Major League Baseball team that competes in the Western division of the National League. The Diamondbacks are based out of Phoenix, Arizona and are often referred to as the D-Backs by the press and fans.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have one  World Series title in 2001 and have won 3 division titles in 1999, 2001, in 2002. The current manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks is Bob Melvin and the current owner is Ken Kendrick. The team mascot for the Arizona Diamondback is Baxter the Bobcat and their victory song is “Remember The Name” by Fort Minor. The Diamondbacks conduct their spring training in Tucson, Arizona at Tucson Electric Park. The fans come out to watch and bring their Arizona Diamondbacks Merchandise. They love to support their Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks have recently redesigned the entire look of their uniforms.  They are as of the Diamondbacks announced in September of 2006 that for the first time in team history that they would make changes.  The uniform change was initially supposed to be a secret until the 2006 season was over but the rumor leaked out and the media announced it all over the world.
The Arizona Diamondbacks have had a lot of success in its short team history.  Brandon Webb won the Cy Young Award for the National League and has become famous for his sinker ball.  The CY Young voting for Brandon was not even close, receiving 15 first-place votes out of 32 voters.  In 2006 Brandon Webb went 16- 8 with a 3.10 ERA and was voted to the All-Star game.
Randy Johnson has become a face for the Arizona Diamondbacks.  On January 7, 2007, Randy Johnson announced to the Arizona Diamondbacks that he would return to the team on a two-year contract agreement.  Initially, Randy Johnson was traded to the New York Yankees from the Arizona Diamondbacks for several players. Randy Johnson’s return to Arizona has fans electrified.
The Arizona Diamondbacks won their first World Series in 2001 and is remembered as one of the best games of all time. The Diamondbacks defeated the New York Yankees in game seven. The legendary pitcher Randy Johnson pitched a perfect game in the World Series and will be remembered forever.

The Anaheim Angels compete in the Western division in the American League. The Anaheim Angels are often referred to as the Los Angeles Angels, Anaheim Angels, and even the California Angels. The Angels play in Angel Stadium in Anaheim and it is located near Disneyland on Katella Ave. Angel Stadium has been called Anaheim Stadium, Edison international Field, and Dodger Stadium in the past. The ballpark has a rich history dating back to the 1960s.

The Anaheim Angels have one World Series title under their belt. In 2002 the Angels won the World Series and the American League Pennant. The Angels have won five Western division titles starting in 1979, 1982, 1986, 2004, in 2005. The Angels current owner is Arte Moreno and their manager is Mike Scioscia. In 2006 Anaheim placed second in the American League West with a final record of 89 wins and 73 losses.

The Angels have a rich history of Hall of Famer’s. Reggie Jackson is one of the most predominant Hall of Famer’s that played for the Angels but there are also players like Rod Carew, Eddie Murray, Nolan Ryan, Dave Winfield, Frank Robinson, are just a few that have been accepted into the Hall of Fame. The Angels have retired Jackie Robinson, Nolan Ryan, Gene Autry, Rod Carew, and Jim Fregosi number throughout their history.

The Angels wear red, dark red, silver, and navy blue on their uniforms and they have a logo design of a capital “A,” representing Angels. The team’s long history has created many rivalries like the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, lost Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and the Oakland Athletics. The Angels have a total of six playoff appearances dating back to 1979 to their last appearance in 2005. The Anaheim Angels has become a team to reckon with as of late.

Angel Fans load up on Anaheim Angles Merchandise from online stores. They love to wear their gear to the games to show their team support.

Nolan Ryan is currently Anaheim Angles all-time leader in strikeouts with 2,416 and also holds the all-time record in major league history. The Angels defeated Barry bonds and the New York Giants in seven games to become champions in the World Series in 2002. Troy Glaus was named World Series MVP as the rally monkeys gained respect.