Portal:Baseball

The Gold Glove Award is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in both the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), as voted by the managers and coaches in each league. Managers are not permitted to vote for their own players. Eighteen Gold Gloves are awarded each year (with the exception of 1957, 1985, 2007 and 2018), one at each of the nine positions in each league. In 1957, the baseball glove manufacturer Rawlings created the Gold Glove Award to commemorate the best fielding performance at each position. The award was created from a glove made from gold lamé-tanned leather and affixed to a walnut base. Initially, only one Gold Glove per position was awarded to the top fielder at each position in the entire league; however, separate awards were given for the National and American Leagues beginning in 1958.

Brooks Robinson won 16 Gold Gloves with the Baltimore Orioles, leading both the American League and all third basemen in awards won. Mike Schmidt is tied with Nolan Arenado for second in wins at third base; Schmidt won 10 with the Philadelphia Phillies and is tied for National League third basemen in Gold Gloves. Arenado also has 10, 8 with the Rockies and 2 with the Cardinals. Scott Rolen owns the fourth-highest total, winning eight awards. Rolen won with the Phillies, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Cincinnati Reds. Six-time winners at third base are Buddy Bell, Eric Chavez, and Robin Ventura. Adrián Beltré, Ken Boyer, Matt Chapman, Doug Rader, and Ron Santo have each won five Gold Gloves at third base, and four-time winners include Gary Gaetti and Matt Williams. Hall of Famers who have won a Gold Glove at the position include Robinson, Rolen, Schmidt, Santo, Wade Boggs, and George Brett. (Full article...)

The New York Yankees are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in The Bronx, New York. They play in the American League East division. Since the institution of Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft, the Yankees have selected 46 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is Major League Baseball's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.

Of the 48 players the Yankees have selected in the first round, 23 were pitchers. Of these, 18 were right-handed and 5 were left-handed. The Yankees have drafted ten outfielders, six shortstops, three catchers, three first basemen, and three third basemen. The team has never drafted a player at second base. The Yankees drafted 29 players out of high school, and drafted 18 players out of college. Eleven of the players came from high schools or colleges in the state of California, and Florida follows with five players. (Full article...)

The Seattle Mariners are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Seattle, Washington. They play in the American League West division. Since the franchise entered the league as an expansion team in 1977, they have selected 47 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is Major League Baseball's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams that lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1976 expansion draft through which the Mariners filled their roster.

Of the 47 players selected in the first round by the Mariners, 18 have been pitchers, the most of any position; of whom 13 were right-handed and five left-handed. They have also drafted nine outfielders, eight shortstops, seven catchers, three first basemen and two third baseman. Seattle has never drafted a second baseman in the first round. The Mariners have drafted 22 players out of high school, and 24 out of college. All of the college selections came from four-year institutions; the team has never selected a junior college player in the first round. The Mariners have drafted 11 players from high schools or colleges in California, four players from Florida, and a single player from their home state of Washington. One of the Mariners' 2007 picks—Canadian Phillippe Aumont—is the only selection from outside the United States. (Full article...)

Jewish players have played in Major League Baseball since the league came into existence in the late 19th century, and have a long and storied history within the game. There have been 190 players who identified as Jewish during their Major League career, including players who converted during or before their careers, and players who have or had at least one Jewish parent, and identified as Jewish by virtue of their parentage.

In the early years, Jewish baseball players faced constant antisemitic heckles from opponents and fans, with many hiding their heritage to avoid discrimination in the league. Despite this, a number of Jewish players overcame such abuse and went on to become stars. Two such players, Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax, were both elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and are widely considered to be amongst the most important and iconic players in baseball and American history. The sport played a large part in the assimilation of American Jews into American society at a time of rampant antisemitism, and remains an important part of Jewish American culture today. (Full article...)

The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. The award has been presented by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) since 1931. (Full article...)

The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the National League East division. Since the institution of Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft, the Phillies have selected 51 players in its first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is Major League Baseball's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.

Of the 51 players picked in the first round by the Phillies, 26 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 20 of these were right-handed, while 6 were left-handed. Nine players picked in the initial round were outfielders, while six catchers, four first basemen, and four shortstops were selected. The team also selected one player each at second base and third base. Thirteen of the 45 players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, while Texas and Florida follow, with six and five players, respectively. (Full article...)

The Willie Mays World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award is given to the Major League Baseball (MLB) player deemed to have the most impact on his team's performance in the World Series, which is the final round of the MLB postseason. The award was first presented in 1955 by Sport magazine, but since 1985 has been officially presented by MLB. The winner is determined during the final game of the World Series by a committee of reporters and officials present at the game.

On September 29, 2017, the award was renamed in honor of Willie Mays in remembrance of the 63rd anniversary of The Catch, which occurred the year before the award's debut; Mays never won the award himself. (Full article...)

The Houston Astros, originally called the "Colt .45s", are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Houston, Texas. They play in the American League West division. Since the institution of Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft, the Astros have selected 57 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is Major League Baseball's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its franchises. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, and the team that had the worst record receives the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks. The First-Year Player Draft is unrelated to the 1961 expansion draft in which the Astros initially filled their roster.

Of the 57 players picked in the first round by Houston, 24 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 21 of these were right-handed, while 3 were left-handed. Ten catchers were selected, while nine outfielders, nine shortstops, two first basemen, and two third basemen were taken as well. The team also selected one player at second base. Thirteen of the players came from high schools or universities in the state of California, while Texas and Tennessee follow with five and three players, respectively. They have also drafted two players from outside the United States: Carlos Correa (2012) and Ramón Castro (1994), both from Puerto Rico. (Full article...)

The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The Padres first played their home games at San Diego Stadium until 2004, when they moved into Petco Park. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. The Padres have used 24 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 42 seasons. The 24 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 15 wins, 14 losses and 13 no decisions. No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game.

The Padres' first Opening Day starting pitcher was Dick Selma, who received a win against the Houston Astros. Randy Jones, Eric Show and Jake Peavy tie the Padres' record for most Opening Day starts with four. Peavy has the most consecutive Opening Day starts with four (2006–2009). Jones and Andy Benes each have had three consecutive Opening Day starts. Benes has the most consecutive Opening Day losses with three from 1993 to 1995. (Full article...)

In baseball, completing the cycle is the accomplishment of hitting a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. In terms of frequency, the cycle is roughly as common as a no-hitter; Baseball Digest calls it "one of the rarest feats in baseball". Collecting the hits in the listed order is known as a "natural cycle".

The cycle itself is semi-rare in Major League Baseball (MLB), having occurred a total of 350 times, starting with Curry Foley in 1882, through Byron Buxton on July 12, 2025. A natural cycle has been completed 14 times in modern MLB history, most recently by Gary Matthews Jr. of the Texas Rangers in 2006. (Full article...)

The Boston Reds were a Major League Baseball franchise that played in the Players' League (PL) in 1890, and one season in the American Association (AA) in 1891. In both seasons, the Reds were their league's champion, making them the second team to win back-to-back championships in two different leagues. The first franchise to accomplish this feat was the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, who won the AA championship in 1889 and the National League (NL) championship in 1890. The Reds played their home games at the Congress Street Grounds.

The Reds were an instant success on the field and in the public's opinion. The team signed several top-level players, and they played in a larger, more comfortable and modern ballpark than the Boston Beaneaters, the popular and well established cross-town rival. Player signings that first year included future Hall of Famers King Kelly, Dan Brouthers, and Charles Radbourn, along with other veterans such as Hardy Richardson, Matt Kilroy, Harry Stovey, and Tom Brown. The PL ended after one season, leaving most of its teams without a league. (Full article...)

The Chicago Cubs are a Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. They play in the National League Central division. Since the institution of MLB's Rule 4 Draft, the Cubs have selected 68 players in the first round. Officially known as the "First-Year Player Draft", the Rule 4 Draft is MLB's primary mechanism for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on the previous season's standings, with the team possessing the worst record receiving the first pick. In addition, teams which lost free agents in the previous off-season may be awarded compensatory or supplementary picks.

Of the 68 players picked in the first round by the Cubs, 32 have been pitchers, the most of any position; 24 of these were right-handed, while 6 were left-handed. Sixteen players picked in the initial round were outfielders, while ten shortstops, two catchers, and one player each at first base, second base, and third base were also taken. The Cubs drafted 26 players out of high school, and 32 out of college. Chicago has drafted eleven players from high schools or colleges in the state of California, with six more coming from Texas and five from Indiana. The Cubs have also taken four players from their home state of Illinois. (Full article...)

In baseball, a grand slam is a home run that is hit when the bases are loaded (i.e., there are runners occupying first, second, and third base simultaneously), thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. Thirteen players have hit two grand slams in a single Major League Baseball (MLB) game to date, the most recent being Josh Willingham of the Washington Nationals on July 27, 2009. No player has accomplished the feat more than once in his career and no player has ever hit more than two in a game. Tony Lazzeri was the first player to hit two grand slams in a single game, doing so for the New York Yankees against the Philadelphia Athletics on May 24, 1936.

Every team which had a player hit two grand slams won their milestone games. These games have resulted in other single-game MLB records being set due to the prodigious offensive performance. Lazzeri, for example, proceeded to hit a third home run in the game and finished with a total of eleven runs batted in, an American League record. Fernando Tatís became the only player to hit two grand slams in the same inning, when he attained the milestone, slugging two in the third inning for the St. Louis Cardinals on April 23, 1999. In achieving the feat, he also set a new major league record with eight runs batted in in a single inning. (Full article...)

In baseball, batting average (AVG) is a measure of a batter's success rate in achieving a hit during an at bat, and is calculated by dividing a player's hits by his at bats. The achievement of a .400 batting average in a season was historically recognized as the coveted "standard of hitting excellence", in light of how batting .300 in a season is already regarded as very good. There have been 50 officially-recognized instances of a player having recorded a batting average of at least .400 in a single Major League Baseball (MLB) season, but none have done so since 1943, when Josh Gibson of the Homestead Grays hit .466, the single-season record. In the National League, the last to do so was Bill Terry of the New York Giants in 1930. Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox is the last player to hit .400 in the American League. Four players – Ed Delahanty, Ty Cobb, Rogers Hornsby and Oscar Charleston – have accomplished the feat in three different seasons, Ross Barnes was the first player to bat .400 in a season, posting a .429 batting average in the National League's inaugural 1876 season.

In total, 36 players have reached the .400 mark in MLB history and seven have done so more than once. Of these, eighteen were left-handed batters, seventeen were right-handed, and one was a switch hitter, meaning they could bat from either side of the plate. Two of these players (Terry and Williams) played for only one major league team. The Philadelphia Phillies are the only franchise to have three players reach the milestone in the same season: Ed Delahanty, Billy Hamilton, Sam Thompson, all of whom Hall of Fame outfielders who attained a batting average over .400 during the 1894 season. The Homestead Grays are the only franchise with four players recording a .400 single-season batting average, albeit in different years: Joe Strong (1932), Josh Gibson (1937, 1943), Buck Leonard (1938) and David Whatley (1939) all hit .400 while playing for the Grays. Three players won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in the same year as their .400 season: Ty Cobb (1911), George Sisler (1922) and Rogers Hornsby (1925). Rap Dixon, Tip O'Neill, Nap Lajoie, Josh Gibson (twice), Willie Wells, Mule Suttles, Oscar Charleston (twice), Heavy Johnson and Rogers Hornsby (twice) also earned the Triple Crown alongside achieving a .400 batting average, leading their respective leagues in batting average, home runs and runs batted in (RBI). Shoeless Joe Jackson of the Cleveland Naps hit .408 in 1911, the highest batting average ever recorded by a rookie in the American League. Joe Strong has the lowest career batting average among players who have batted .400 in a season with .266, while Gibson – with .372 – recorded the highest career average in major league history. (Full article...)

In baseball, a home run is credited to a batter when they hit a fair ball and reach home safely on the same play, without the benefit of an error. 136 players have hit a home run in their first at bat of a Major League Baseball (MLB) game, the most recent being Matt Gorski of the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 24, 2025. George Tebeau and Mike Griffin both hit home runs in their first at bats on April 16, 1887. These players are recognized together as the first player to homer in his first major league at bat because it is unknown which one hit first.

Luke Stuart, Walter Mueller, and Johnnie LeMaster hit inside-the-park home runs in their first at bats. Bill Duggleby, Jeremy Hermida, Kevin Kouzmanoff and Daniel Nava hit grand slams in their first at bats—Kouzmanoff and Nava doing so on the first pitch. Ernie Koy and Heinie Mueller were the first players to accomplish the feat in the same game, doing so for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively, in the first inning of Opening Day in 1938. This was equalled in 2016 by Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge, who became the only players to achieve the feat as teammates (playing for the New York Yankees) and in back-to-back at bats. Two players, Bob Nieman and Keith McDonald, each homered in their second at bat also. Paul Gillespie and John Miller are the only players to hit home runs in both their first and last major league at bats; for Miller these were the only two home runs of his MLB career. For 23 players, their first at bat home run was the only home run of their major league careers, and Gary Gaetti hit more home runs (360) than any other player who hit one in their first at bat. (Full article...)